No Secrets
by Clairisant2000
Summary: Gibbs sends Sam into the JAG office on a mission and Sam finds one of her own once she meets AJ.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: No Secrets

AUTHOR: Clairisant

CLASSIFICATION: AJ/Other NCIS Crossover

FEEDBACK: Would love to hear both good and bad feedback but please try to be kind and constructive. Clairisant 

Chapter 1

Special Agent Samantha Blaze stood in front of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' desk with an extremely upset look on her face. "You can't send me into that office without informing Admiral Chegwidden!" She had only been at NCIS for a few weeks but her father General Samuel Blaze had served with Gibbs and because they were friendly, she felt familiar enough with the man who was her boss to be able to stand up to him that way.

"Listen Sam I agree with you. AJ should be told. I know him and he is above reproach, however no matter how much I've argued for that idea Vance has shot me down. He has made it an order that AJ be kept in the dark," Gibbs insisted.

"That's not going to end well," Sam replied.

"Be that as it may, we are sending you in undercover as Major Sam Bell…"

She interrupted him, "I haven't been in the Marines for five years and you know it!"

"I know, but your cover story will be air tight, I assure you. Your cover job will be that of their new office manager."

"Investigating one of Admiral Chegwidden's staff is going to be difficult without his knowledge."

"I have confidence in your abilities or I wouldn't be sending you in."

Shaking her head she turned and started for the elevator.

"Where are you going? You don't have to be there until tomorrow," Gibbs wanted to know.

"Shopping! It appears I will need a few uniforms. Do you really think I kept them after five years?" she asked.

"Oh," Gibbs said. "Okay, go ahead," he added.

The next morning Sam stood in front of her mirror tucking her golden blond hair into a bun and then she straightened the uniform she hadn't worn for five years. She was still not happy about the situation, but she was given little choice in the matter.

Heading into the JAG office early so she could get a lay of the land, she stepped off the elevator and was surprised to smell coffee brewing. Following her nose in the hopes of getting a cup for herself she saw a Marine Colonel come out of a side room from the bullpen. "Good morning, Colonel, is that coffee I smell up for grabs?"

Mac turned to face the person that had startled her. No one was ever in the office that early except the Admiral and herself. She didn't recognize the Marine Major that stood in front of her, but there was no reason not to share the coffee, "Sure, but it's pretty strong."

"Good, I like it that way," Sam told her and walked into the break room. But the room wasn't empty. "Admiral!" Sam exclaimed and came to attention.

"Major," AJ acknowledged, "At ease, can I help you with anything?"

"I was just hoping to get a cup of that wonderful smelling coffee."

"You're welcome to a cup Major, but I have to warn you, it's rather strong."

"I like it that way," she answered with a grin. As she poured herself a cup and took a sip, AJ waited for her negative reaction to the strong brew. Instead she closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure. "This is wonderful!" Sam told him.

Privately he thought, 'Marines!', but out loud he said, "I'm glad you like it. You are Major Bell our new office manager, correct?"

"Yes Sir," she admitted to the falsehood she'd had to agree to.

"May I ask why you are here an hour before you need to be?"

"I wanted to come in while the place was empty to just get an idea of what was in store for me. I wasn't expecting you and Colonel Mackenzie to be here this early as well," Sam admitted with a sheepish grin.

"I admire your work ethic Major," AJ told her and then held out his hand and said, "Welcome to the team."

Feeling very guilty she took his hand and shook it all the while thinking how badly she felt for deceiving him.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"If you will follow me, I'll show you where your desk is," AJ said and walked with her out of the break room.

It turned out her desk was right in the middle of the bullpen. She thanked the Admiral and sat down to get her day started. Sam recognized each of the staff as they came in because of the research she had done last night.

Because she was a highly organized person Sam was able to do her office manager's work as well as the research for the real reason she was in the office. By lunch time she had assessed each of the staff.

Grabbing a salad and a bottle of ice tea she headed for the patio, it was just too nice to eat indoors. When she got out there she realized that pretty much everyone else felt that way too. The only table with an empty seat already had one person at it. "Admiral might I join you?"

AJ looked up from the salad he was eating and after a quick look around he realized that his table was the only open seating. Nodding he said, "Yes, of course."

She put down her salad container and they both noticed that they had made the same selection. "It looks like we have a lot in common, Admiral."

"Yes it does. How is your first day of work here at JAG going?"

"Very interesting, but I wish I could get to know the staff better. Everyone is so busy always rushing around, you can hardly say 'hello'."

"Well, I like to hear that my people are keeping busy, but today is only your first day. I'm sure that you'll have plenty of time to get to know them."

"I hope so, Sir," she said and started to eat her meal.

They finished eating at the same time so walked into the building together, rode up in the elevator and didn't part until they reached her desk where she stopped and he continued on to his office.

She removed her uniform at home that evening so mad that she almost called Gibbs to tell him she was done! After all the time she had spent with Admiral Chegwidden that day she really felt that she was betraying his trust.

In the morning she entered the break room to find Admiral Chegwidden just starting a pot of coffee. "Good morning Admiral, I brought in some pastries to go with that coffee if you like."

He groaned with a grin, "They smell fantastic, but I'll have to run a few more miles in the morning if I indulge."

"You look pretty fit to me, if I may say so, Sir," Sam told him.

She thought that she could detect a slight flush to his cheeks and he seemed to be at a loss for words until he was saved by the pot finish brewing. "Ready for coffee?" he asked.

"I am," opening the pastry box she offered it to him.

Choosing one, he looked at his watch and said, "Colonel Mackenzie seems to be running late this morning."

"She had an early meeting in Norfolk, so won't be back till she finishes there," Sam reported.

"Guess that means more coffee and pastries for us," he teased.

Sam laughed, "I thought we might leave some for the rest of the staff."

"I guess that would be okay," AJ reached into the box and took two of the pastries and a cup of coffee then added, "I should be getting to work."

Taking one of the pastries and her coffee Sam agreed that she should be doing the same and they left the break room together.

Later that morning AJ came out of his office intent on getting another cup of coffee. He couldn't help it, but his eyes were drawn to Major Bell. He had admitted to himself that he was attracted to her, but he knew nothing could come of it. The rank difference, she was under his command, as well as the age difference between them, all that would keep them apart, so he must forget his attraction or at the very least not act upon it.

That didn't stop his eyes from being drawn to her as he entered the bullpen. However, her eyes did not meet his, she was staring intently into Lieutenant Bud Roberts office. He had to wonder what her fascination was with Bud, but maybe it was nothing and she was just studying the new people she was working with. AJ put it aside for then and went to get his coffee.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Later that day AJ had to stop by Mac's office to talk to her about her trip to Norfolk. As he passed through the bullpen once again he couldn't keep his eyes from drifting towards Samantha Bell. He found her eyes following Bud Roberts as he crossed the bullpen on the way to the elevator. This interest began to concern him. He was worried that her interest might be romantic. AJ had to wonder if she knew that he was happily married man. Maybe he could find a way to bring it up over their morning coffee tomorrow.

He couldn't help but dwell on Sam's fascination with Bud. Now Harm he could understand, he was good looking and charming and many women were attracted to him. Bud however was very nice, but hardly in the Harm league for looks.

The next morning AJ kept Mac talking in the break room until Sam arrived. After greetings were done AJ deliberately asked Mac, "Have you talked to Harriett recently?" Then turned to Sam to explain, "Harriett is Bud Roberts' wife, they recently lost a baby."

"That's terrible! Nothing could be worse than losing a child," she said sadness clear in her voice.

"I haven't talked to her in a few days, but maybe I'll give her a call and see if she wants to go to lunch with me one day soon," Mac told him and then excused herself to go to her office.

Sam poured herself a cup of coffee and told AJ that she should also get to her desk. He followed her out of the break room and proceeded on to his own office. He figured he had gently gotten the information that Bud was a married man across to her and that would be that. He had no real hope that she could be interested in him, but he also didn't want her to get hurt.

What he hadn't expected was to come out of the morning staff meeting to find Bud standing next to Sam's desk chatting with her like they were old friends. He skipped the cup of coffee he usually got at that time and went right to his office.

Sam sat at her desk thinking about how AJ tried to subtlety tell her that Bud Roberts was married. She must have been less subtle than she thought while observing Bud. But it really seemed like Admiral Chegwidden thought she was interested in Bud!

Bud was a sweet guy, but not her type at all! She was much more interested in the Admiral. He was so steady, calm, caring, not to mention how handsome he was. The problem was that she was posing as someone under his command and she was pretty sure that he was too honorable to break that rule.

Sam could tell by the way AJ acted the next morning over their coffee that his disapproval of her assumed attraction to Bud Roberts by how coolly he was acting towards her. She spent most of the morning as she did the boring filing, trying to figure out a way to convince him he was wrong.

She made sure for the rest of the day to be aware of where the Admiral was before checking in on what Bud was doing.

When she got home that night Gibbs was sitting in her living room. "How did you get in here?!" she demanded.

"Your hidden key wasn't as hidden as you thought," he replied.

"I don't have a hidden key!" she snapped.

"Then maybe I picked the lock."

With a glare she sank down into a chair facing the couch he was sitting on. "What do you want and why couldn't you have just called?"

"I wanted an update. Have you found the leak yet?" he wanted to know.

"I've only been there two days Gibbs!" she protested. "And not only do I need to search for the leak, I actually have to do the job that is my cover!"

"Well you must at least have an idea of who it is!"

"I do, I'm pretty sure I have it narrowed down to three people…"

"Three!" interrupted Gibbs.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Yes, three and don't give me any grief about it. I think that is good progress in just two days. Now if you don't mind…in fact even if you do mind I'm tired. I just want to grab something to eat and fall into bed. Get lost!"

When he was gone, Sam went into the kitchen and made herself a lovely dinner and then after cleaning up took a long hot bath before falling into bed.

After Mac had left the break room the next morning and before AJ could follow her, Sam asked, "Admiral do you have a moment to talk?"

"Yes, Major would you like to go to my office?"

"No, here is fine, no one else is ever here this early. I just wanted you to know that I am not interested in Lieutenant Roberts. I am sorry but I guess I was just using him as a cover for the person that I am really interested in,"

"Who would that be Major?"

"I'm sorry Sir, I can't say, but I will monitor myself much more carefully and you will have no further cause to be concerned."

"Major, if the person you are have feelings for is unrequited… you are doing such a good job here, I would hate to lose you but wouldn't it be better to request a transfer?"

No Sir, I want to stay. I like the job and the people that I work with. Please let me stay," Sam stood in front of him looking him right in the eyes.

"Alright Major, but if I see any evidence of this attraction I will arrange a transfer for you."

"Yes Sir, thank you," she had come to attention as she said this.

"Dismissed Major."

Sam turned and returned to her desk.

AJ followed a few moments later keeping his eyes forward.

Several hours later AJ came out of his office and found her staring at another staff member. This time she was staring at Ensign Moore…Ensign CARLA Moore! So this was why she wouldn't say who she was interested in. He had no idea that she cared for another female. But because of Navy policy of 'don't ask, don't tell' he could never mention this discovery to her.

He knew that he hadn't had a chance with her but somehow it hurt just a little more to find out that she was interested in a woman rather than a man. He didn't blame her for her sexual preference, but the fact that she was interested in females that really put his hopes that they could ever be together to rest.

Sam felt that there was something going on with the Admiral the next morning. Over coffee he seemed cooler than he had ever been. At her desk a bit later she wondered if it was something she had done. Could it be that he was upset with her that she hadn't told him who she was interested in? She almost snorted as the thought of how that conversation would go!

'So you want to know who it is in the office that I am interested in Admiral?' She would wait until he said yes then she would continue, 'So Admiral the one that I am interested in is you.' Then she would wait for his reaction. She had many different ideas for how he would react.

The first one would be total shock. He would stand there speechless with a stunned look on his face. The second reaction she thought he might have was anger. He would scold her for her disregard for the UCMJ even though he had no idea that she didn't have to abide by it since she wasn't really a Marine. The third reaction she thought he might have was laughter at how absurd it would be he could even think about returning her feelings. Or the one that she loved best even though it was the least likely that was that he would swing her up in his arms and twirl her around as he kissed her. Oh how she wished that was the reaction he would have.

But none of them would happen because just as she couldn't tell him about the real reason she was here in his offices she also could never tell him that she was falling in love with him.

With a sigh Sam thought she'd better get back to work before someone noticed that she was sitting at her desk day dreaming.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

By the end of the day Gibbs would be happy with her. She had eliminated one of the three suspects she'd had. Now she was down to just two.

Whenever she'd had time throughout the day she had been doing a background check on the two that she suspected. She found interesting anomalies in both Ensign Carla Moore and Corporal August Knor's backgrounds. She would need to investigate both of them further.

A phone call to Gibbs when she got home updated him. After telling him about the anomalies she found in her background checks, Gibbs said he would put McGee on it to see what he could find. Sam thanked him and then hung up.

Cooking dinner for herself she watched the evening news and then did one of her favorite things. She took a long hot bubble bath with some soothing music playing. Her bed was calling and her dreams that night both pleased and disappointed her. Pleased because AJ Chegwidden confessed his undying love for her asked her to be his wife. Disappointed because she knew it would never happen.

With the cloud of her dream still on her mind she headed into the office glad that the weekend started tomorrow. She was still feeling that way when she entered the break room and it was pretty clear that AJ noticed.

"Major is there something wrong?" he had waited until Mac was gone until he asked her this.

"No Sir," she replied simply.

"Part of my role here in this office is to see to my people. If there is something wrong you can always come to me."

"I'm really fine Admiral. Thank you for thinking of me though," Sam said, thrilled by his kindness and caring but sure it was just because he was that way with everyone under his command and not because he thought she was something special.

AJ knew there was something wrong, but he couldn't do any more than he already had without crossing the line. "Alright then…Major, if you change your mind you know you can come to me."

"Thank you Sir, I'll remember that," she told him and quickly left the break room.

A few moments later even though he walked right by her desk neither of them looked at the other.

Mac came out of her office a few minutes later and stopped by Sam's desk. "Major, I accidently heard the Admiral as I was leaving the break room. I know you are new here and haven't had a lot of time to make friends, but I would be glad to help in any way that I can."

"Thank you Colonel however, I am fine and I told the Admiral that."

"Okay, but if you do want to talk, my door is always open."

"Again thank you Colonel, I will remember that."

Later that day AJ was in the bullpen talking to Bud when Commander Harmon Rabb got back from the Seahawk where he had been conducting an investigation and keeping up his quals.

Harm saw Sam the moment he walked in and made a beeline for her desk. "Hi! I'm Commander Harmon Rabb, you must be new here Major…" he waited for her to fill in her name.

AJ watched the interchange waiting for Sam to shoot Rabb down. He felt a little guilty about the delight he was feeling, but he couldn't help it. He had seen Harm sweep in and pick up any woman he ever saw. With Sam interested in women AJ was just waiting for him to be sent packing in a big way.

"Samantha Bell," she replied with a smile.

After checking out her hand for a ring, Harm asked, "So do you have any plans for dinner tonight?"

Trying very hard not to let a grin show AJ waited for Sam to turn Harm down, but instead had to keep his mouth from dropping open when she said, "I would love to have dinner with you Commander."

"Wonderful! But please call me Harm," he smiled, "If you will give me your address, I will pick you up at 1830."

"Sounds fine," she replied and wrote out her address on a piece of paper.

AJ went into the break room for his coffee completely confused about what just happened. She was interested in Bud, then she wasn't. She was interested in Carla, but here she was accepting a date with Harm just moments after meeting him. What was going on? Well he knew that Harm had charm and it seemed like Samantha had fallen victim to it.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Taking his coffee back to his office he tried to concentrate on the work he was supposed to be getting done. Since it was Friday he wouldn't see Samantha until Monday morning to see if he could find out how the date went.

Sam wasn't sure why she accepted the date with Commander Rabb. All she knew was that AJ was standing just a few feet away and by agreeing to go out with someone else it would hide the fact that she had feelings for him.

As she was leaving for the evening she passed AJ in the hall near the elevator. Her heart tugged a bit as she wished she was going home to prepare for a date with him instead of Harm.

On her way home she once again felt like there was just something 'off'. She'd had that feeling a few times during the day, but hadn't really thought much of it until it came back even stronger tonight as she was on the way home. Shaking it off, she removed her uniform and had taken her hair out of the bun she always wore at work. Her golden blonde hair fell in heavy waves to the middle of her back. Sam decided to just let it be free. She put on an emerald green dress that highlighted her beautiful green eyes. Black heels and a matching clutch purse completed the outfit and she was ready and waiting when 1830 came…and went. She was still waiting when 1845 rolled around. At 1850 there was finally a knock on her door.

"Hello," she said throwing a look at the clock visible in the living room.

Harm didn't say a word about being late, rather the way he said what he did, almost made it sound like he had been waiting on her. "So are you ready to go now Sammy?"

A little irritated that he didn't give her a reason for being late or at least an 'I'm sorry' she found it hard to take. "Yes, I'm ready," she told him with a bit of a bite in her voice.

Without asking her where she wanted to go, they pulled up at a small restaurant called Mike's Place. She had never heard of it and she'd lived in the area all her life. Once inside, she was surprised at the menu. The first two pages were vegetarian, the second two pages were vegan and the last page was for carnivores.

Harm ordered something called lasagna rolls and he just smiled indulgently when she ordered a top sirloin from the back page. "Mac orders from that page too," he told her.

"Have you and Mac dated long?"

"Nah we don't date, Mac and I are just friends."

"Oh, is there anyone else that you are seeing on a regular basis?"

"Are you trying to find out if there if there is any competition for you?" he asked with a teasing voice.

"No not at all," she stated emphatically.

"Oh why is that?"

"Because although I think you are a nice guy, I don't think you're my type of guy. I'm sorry Harm," she told him as gently as she could.

"We have only been on this date less than an hour how can you possibly know that I am not your type?"

"Harm do you want me tell you the truth or would you rather I was just polite?"

He looked startled at her response he honestly thought he could charm her into changing her mind. "Sure, give me the truth, I can take it."

"Alright then, I want someone considerate enough to call me when they are going to be late picking me up for a date or at least offer an explanation when they arrived…"

He was about to start defending himself when she held up her hand and said, "I am not through yet. I would also like someone who would ask where I would like to go to eat or at least find out if I was a vegetarian or not before bringing me to a vegetarian restaurant. Now I am finished if you would like to say something."

"Wow! You don't pull any punches do you?"

"You said you wanted the truth. I'm sorry if I offended you."

"I'm not offended," he replied.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

But Sam felt that he was not telling the truth. There was an undertone of hurt in his voice and she was sorry that her words had put it there.

"I was going to take you dancing after dinner but I have a feeling that I should take you home instead," Harm suggested.

"I think that would be a good idea," she agreed.

The rest of the meal was pretty awkward and he did take her home as soon as they were done eating.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out Harm. I hope it won't affect our working together."

"It won't," he told her as they arrived at her place. Once again she had a nagging feeling that something was 'off' almost like someone was watching her. She looked around as casually as she could before going into the house but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Over the weekend she avoided several calls from Gibbs by taking herself out to eat and then to a movie on Saturday evening. Because of her feeling that she might have been followed last night, she was on the lookout for it while she was out that day. She had noticed a white van behind her several times while she was out, but white vans were pretty common and it was never close enough that she was able to see the driver or license plate. Taking the long way home she saw the latest van following her drop away. Sam was glad to get home and lock her door.

Sunday she needed to get some chores done around the house and she figured that she would finally have to answer the phone call from Gibbs. What she hadn't expected was that he would just show up on her doorstep. With a sigh she let him in after answering the door to find him there.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you," he told her with an angry frown.

"I know," was her only reply.

"I was trying to let you know what McGee had discovered."

"And you couldn't call?"

"I called you eleven times yesterday!" he complained.

"But you didn't call today…today I was going to answer," she told him with a grin.

He pulled out the file he had brought with him and the two of them sat down at the table to go over what McGee had found out. Sergeant August Knorr had been born in Iran, he and his parents had moved to Italy when he was a child, where they had changed their names. Then August had changed his name again and had come to the US where he joined the Marines. Because of this Gibbs told her to keep a closer eye on Knorr.

Samantha was surprised that it was her secondary suspect that had the major red flag. She might have to switch her focus. Although her gut told her that her first suspect was right. The only thing she could think of was to keep her eye on both of them.

Telling Gibbs good-bye she ordered a pizza and while she waited for it to arrive she jumped into the shower.

After eating she reviewed the files Gibbs had brought so she had it in her head and didn't have to have any notes on her that could be found.

While she had been working that evening a phone call that would have far reaching influence on her life was taking place. The call had been recorded and would very soon be brought to the attention of someone who was very interested in her.

Morning coffee was a bit tense when AJ asked about her date with Harm before Mac left the break room.

"How did your date with Commander Rabb go, Samantha?"

"We had a pleasant evening Admiral, thank you for asking."

"I didn't know you and Harm were dating," Mac stated.

"Date. It was our first and our last," replied Sam.

"Why was that?" Mac asked only a heartbeat before AJ would have asked the same question.

"We just didn't 'click'. Harm is a nice guy, just not the guy for me."

Mac chuckled, "A lot of women feel that way!"

"I should get to work, the Admiral is a stickler for a good work ethic," she grinned at the man she was referring to. Topping off her coffee mug she left the room and went to her desk.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"She really seems like a great person…much too good for Harm, don't you think Admiral?" Mac questioned trying as hard as she could to keep a grin hidden.

"Major Bell has proven to be a very good office manager. As for her personal likes, I wouldn't care to speculate," he answered.

As he was about to leave the room, Mac asked, "Weren't you the one that asked her about her date with Harm?"

AJ didn't reply, but if Mac had looked back she would have seen his ears go slightly red before he could control his flush.

An hour later he was just about to leave his office to go to the conference room for the morning briefing. Instead he came face to face with Clayton Webb. "What do you want Webb?" he snapped.

"To play you a recording of a phone call," Clay answered.

"I'm not a voyeur Webb, go find someone who's interested."

Clay took hold of AJ's are as he started to walk by him. AJ turned a glare on Webb that reminded him of the broken nose the Admiral had given him. Dropping his hand quickly he instead persuaded, "AJ one of your people is in danger. I just figured that you might care enough to want to be involved."

"What are you talking about Webb?!" AJ snapped.

"I think it can all be explained if you listen to this recording," Webb waved the recorder in front of AJ''

Looking at PO Tiner, AJ said, "Tell the staff the morning briefing will be delayed."

"Yes Sir," he responded and went to do as asked.

AJ led Webb into his office and motioned for him to sit down. AJ took his own seat behind his desk. "Alright Webb tell me what the hell is going on."

"We have had Zepher Davis-Marciniak wire tapped for quite some time and last night we got lucky. He was talking to his employee Brandon Grant. We would not have taken action this soon except JAG came up in the conversation.

"You made it sound like we more than came up in the conversation! You said one of my people was in danger!" AJ snarled.

"Let me play the tape and I can explain as we listen," Clay said and then right before starting the tape added, "The first voice on the tape is Davis-Marciniak."

"Just what is taking so long Grant?"

"Well we hit a snag Sir, our person at JAG is holding back…"

"Why?!" Zepher interrupted.

"I'll find out Sir!" Putting the phone down Brandon got out his own cell phone and dialed a number. When his person at JAG came on the live he demanded, "Why haven't you completed your assignment? You act like you don't want your compensation!"

"Of course I do! The delay is because there's someone new in the JAG office that has been sniffing around. I'm not sure how Admiral Chegwidden got wind of what we had planned but he must have brought her in to spy on me!"

"Grant!" came the angry voice from the cell phone lying on the table.

Picking it up, he responded, "Yes Sir?"

"I want this dealt with! Get rid of the problem. Then take care of the original mission!" Zepher ordered.

"Yes Sir. I will see that it's done!" Before he hung up with Zepher he said into his own phone, "The boss said to kill her too then get your primary job done!"

There was the sound of a deep sigh and then, "Alright!"

"It'll be done boss!" Brandon promised Zepher and ended both calls.

The recording ended there. Clay stood there staring at AJ waiting for his reaction. What he got surprised him greatly.

"Do you have any idea who else Davis-Marciniak wanted murdered?" AJ questioned.

"Murdered? Why do you think the other job is a murder?" Clay wanted to know.

"Because Grant said to kill her TOO. So who is it?"

"Well I was figuring we would get what the primary job was out of the suspect when we discern who that voice belongs to. But in the meantime don't you think we need to discover who this new person in your office is that is in danger of being killed. Then we can put him in protective custody."

"I know who that is. Major Bell is our newest hire and that voice on the tape sounds very familiar but I just can't place it."

"Don't you think we should get this Bell guy in here and get him to safety?"

"That 'Bell guy' is Major Samantha Bell and very much not a guy, Webb."

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Sounds like there's some interest there AJ! Are you involved with her?!" Clay demanded to know.

"I won't even dignify that Webb," AJ looked at the other man and with a shake of his head added, "You should know me better than that!" Then he turned to the intercom on his desk and after punching a button, said into it, "Tiner get Major Bell in here."

"Yes Sir," came Tiner' disembodied voice.

Both men stared at each other while waiting for Bell to arrive.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Enter," AJ called. When Major Bell walked in and came to attention, he instructed her, "At ease Mayor, have a seat."

After Sam did as she was told the Admiral introduced the other man in the room, "This is Clayton Webb with the CIA. He brought in a tape that concerns you."

"A tape Sir?" Sam asked with a slight catch in her voice. Had her cover been blown?

"Yes," AJ said to her then turned to Webb, "Play it for her."

Once again the tape played. From the minute it began Sam could not take her eyes off of AJ. Clearly he felt the same way because their eyes stayed locked together. It seemed they were both trying to gauge the others reaction.

The tape ended and Clay said, "So you see that we need to get you into protective custody as soon as possible."

"We need to identify who that voice belongs to!" AJ stated.

"I know who it is Sir, but before I can say anything more I'll need to make a phone call Sir."

AJ lifted one eyebrow and indicated the phone on his desk.

"I'm sorry Sir," Sam said getting to her feet. "I'll need to make the call in private." Without waiting for his response she left the two shocked men behind her as she walked out and shut his office door.

"PO Tiner I need to make a call."

"Of course Major! You can use my phone," Jason told her quickly.

"I'll need privacy," Sam told him apologetically.

"Oh! Of course Major!" Jason got up and left his own office but just to the other side of the wall in the hopes of overhearing the Major's side of the call.

Dialing the number she knew by heart Sam waited for her call to be answered. When it was, she said, "Hello Gibbs."

Tiner's eyes widened and he had to keep himself from gasping when he heard the name. Everyone knew Special Agent Gibbs at NCIS. Why was Major Bell calling him?! Jason had been so surprised at who the Mayor was calling that he missed some of what she was saying, but Jason quickly 'tuned back in' to the side of the conversation that he could hear.

"The recording was clear Gibbs, I was supposed to be killed before the main target was 'taken care of' I need to bring the Admiral in on who I really am."

There was a pause as she listened to Gibbs, and then answered, "I don't have time to wait for Vance's approval. Just tell him that the Admiral should have been in the loop all along!"

Again there was a pause while Gibbs must have been talking. Then she said, "Yes I'll keep you updated Gibbs."

Inside AJ's office as soon as Major Bell had left the room Webb said, "Why do I get the feeling that she works for more than you AJ?"

"You can bet I will get to the bottom of this as soon as she gets back in here," AJ snapped.

As soon as Sam finished her call she hung up and went back into AJ's office without knocking and she closed the door behind her again as she walked to the front of AJ's desk and came to attention.

"Explain yourself Major!" AJ ordered.

"I will Sir, but what I have to say is for you only," she said letting her eyes drift to Webb.

Without even taking his eyes off of Sam, AJ said, "Webb get out."

With an affronted look, Webb protested, "Really?! I will have you know…"

"Out!" was all AJ stated harshly.

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Webb left without a word but he was not happy. In Tiner' office his eyes went from her to the intercom on her desk. "Is there a button on there that will let me hear what is going on in there?" he nodded at AJ's office.

She smiled at him with a slightly flirtatious look on her face, "There might be."

"I need to hear what is going on in there."

"Of course, just let me okay that with the Admiral," she said reaching for the phone.

"Never mind!" he grumbled and with a glare he stomped out of her office. Once in the bullpen Webb looked around for a minute and then with a sudden grin he asked the nearest person which desk belonged to Major Bell. Going over to it, he started rifling through it hoping to find information on her.

"Alright Major, let's have it," AJ ordered after they were alone in his office.

"Actually Sir, I haven't been a Major for over five years now. Gibbs…"

"GIBBS!? You're with NCIS?"

"Yes Sir, he thought my resuming my Marine status would be a good cover. I protested that you should be in the loop but I was over ruled."

"We can deal with all of that later, right now the most important thing is identify the person on the tape and finding who else she is supposed to kill," AJ replied.

"The voice on the tape is Ensign Carla Moore and we were pretty sure the 'primary job' is the assignation of one of the judges. I was sent in to figure out who was involved and who their target is."

"So one of your first suspects was Bud Roberts?"

"Why would you think that?!" Sam exclaimed.

"I saw you staring at him several times when you first got here," he told her.

"No he was never one of my suspects."

"Ah, that's right you said you were covering for the person you really were interested in and the next one I say you watching was Ensign Moore and I thought…it doesn't matter what I thought since I am guessing she was your suspect."

"That's correct." 

He got up and paced around the room. Her eyes followed him but her feet remained firmly planted where they were and it was then he realized he had kept her at attention this entire time. "At ease May…I guess that's incorrect. What is it? Special Agent Bell?"

As she relaxed her stance but remained standing where she was she responded, "Actually it's Special Agent Blaze, Sir."

"Have a seat then Special Agent Blaze," he said and it was almost as if her name had left a bad taste in him mouth.

Her shoulders slumped as she took a seat and she realized she'd lost whatever trust he might have had in her. "Sir should we get Ensign Moore in here to question her?"

"Before we do that we need to bring Webb back in here. He brought this to us but if you wish we can keep who you really are between us. Once Webb is in here I will have Tiner get her after arranging with the MP's to be waiting outside my office door to arrest her when we are done questioning her."

Sam nodded. When Webb was back in AJ's office he gave Sam a questioning look and tried but failed to keep his annoyance hidden. He turned to AJ and demanded, "What was all the secrecy about?"

"Sorry Webb, need to know," AJ told him trying to suppress a grin.

"Funny Chegwidden," Clay grumbled.

After AJ made arrangements with the MP's, Tiner was told to bring Ensign Moore to the office.

A short while later there was a knock on the door. "Enter," AJ called. The door opened and Ensign Moore started into the room until she saw Sam and Webb.

"Come in Ensign," AJ told her.

Carla hesitated and then slowly moved forward. When she was in front of the Admiral's desk he instructed her, "Have a seat Ensign."

"What is this all about Sir?" she asked nervously.

"We have some questions for you Ensign," AJ told her.

"What kind of questions Sir?"

"The kind that will become clear after you hear this tape," AJ stated and then turned to Webb and instructed him to play the tape.

Thirty seconds into the tape Ensign Moore dropped her head into her hands and her shoulders began to shake.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So Ensign, do you know what my first question is going to be?" AJ asked.

"You want to know why I would do this," she stated.

"Yes Ensign, for a start."

"I didn't want to do it! Grant was forcing it on me!" Carla protested.

Sam couldn't help it, she just blurted out her question, "Forced you?! Just what could force you to commit not one but TWO murders?!"

AJ threw her a look for interrupting his questioning but he didn't say anything as they waited for Ensign Moore to answer.

"The compensation Grant is talking about on the tape is my twelve year old son," Carla whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.

"He has your child?!" Sam asked appalled.

"Yes and is threatening to kill him if I don't do as he says."

AJ turned and demanded of Webb, "How much do we know about Grant? Will he release her son when she does what she is supposed to or will he kill him anyway?"

All that was heard from Carla was a moan of pain.

Pulling out a file from his briefcase and passing it to AJ, Webb said, "I'm sorry Ensign but it's very likely that he is already dead."

"I speak to Kasey every night. I told Grant that I wouldn't go through with it unless I had continuing proof that he was still alive."

"Good," AJ replied. "Then we need to rescue Kasey before we do anything else."

"I think you should kill me to give yourself some breathing room," Sam suggested.

"Unacceptable!" exclaimed AJ. "We will think of something else."

"Thank you for that but I honestly didn't mean for you to actually kill me for real. I'm not suicidal. What I meant was to fake my death so it will look like Ensign Moore did her job."

AJ had a thoughtful look on his face as he said, "That might buy some time with Davis-Marciniak, but we still don't know who the main target is, Ensign?"

Ensign Moore sat there in silence for a moment, not like she wasn't going to answer, but for some reason she hesitated, then reluctantly told them Admiral Stiles Morris."

"Morris?" AJ asked, startled. "Do you have any idea why?"

Carla shook her head, "No, I wasn't told why. I was just told to do it or they would kill my son."

"Does it really matter why?" Webb spoke for the first time since Carla had come into the room.

"It can," Sam answered. "If you know why something is desired then you can get into the mind of the bad guy."

"Bad guy?!" Webb questioned with a sneer.

"What do you want me to call him? Evil monster?" asked Sam.

"Who cares what you call him or what his reason for wanting Morris dead? Now that we know who was going to kill him, he's safe," declared Webb.

"That's not true," AJ stated. "Once it becomes clear to Davis-Marciniak that Ensign Morris is not going to kill Admiral Morris, he will more than likely have her taken care of and then he would hire someone else to kill Morris. Webb do you have a file on Davis-Marciniak?"

Nodding, Clay pulled a thick manila folder out of his briefcase and handed it to AJ.

"Let me go through this for a few minutes and Webb you've faked your death a couple of times so why don't you figure out a way to have it look like Ensign Moore killed Major Bell."

"I don't care what happens to me, but may I ask how you are going to rescue Kasey?" Carla asked in a timid voice.

"Ensign what about Kasey's father?" Sam asked.

"He was killed in Afghanistan when Kasey was just a baby."

"Do you have any other family?"

AJ was reading through the Davis-Marciniak file, but he was also listening to the conversation between Samantha and Ensign Moore. He knew where she was going with her questions and understood, but wasn't sure he could allow what she was going for.

"No it's just Kasey and me," she hung her head and for the first time since she came into the room there were tears in her eyes. "What will happen to him if I am in the brig?"

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sam glanced over at AJ when Carla asked that, he just looked back at her letting his mind work on the problem but not yet ready to commit to anything.

With AJ's noncommittal reaction to her look, she answered Carla herself, "I don't know Ensign. I guess we'll have to see."

Next Webb laid out the plan for Sam's murder, Carla was to shoot Sam in her apartment. The CIA's make-up artist would show up and do his job. They would also provide a gun to leave at the site. There would be no finger prints on the gun to lead to a suspect but a picture would be taken to prove to Grant that the deed was done.

"Instead of sending Grant the picture we should try and get him to meet to get it. That would give us a chance to follow him back to where he was staying and hopefully where he had Kasey so we can attempt the rescue," Sam offered.

"We can't include you…Major Bell, you would be dead after all and we can't take the chance of you being seen," AJ told her.

Sam was about to protest, but she could tell by the look on AJ's face that she would not be able to change his mind. "I guess you're right," she reluctantly agreed.

Webb made a call and arranged for the make-up artist to meet Sam and him at her apartment with the gun that would 'kill' her.

She tried to keep her emotions at bay. Sam knew this would be the end of her time at JAG and she would no longer get to see AJ every day. How she wished all this could have ended differently! Damn Gibbs for not letting her be up front with AJ from the start!

Sam had to make one more attempt on Carla's behalf, "A…Admiral there really aren't any charges to be brought against Ensign Moore. She was being forced to do what they wanted because they have her son. She didn't do anything!"

"Is that all Major?" he questioned, stressing the false rank.

Getting to her feet, she came to attention and said, "Yes Sir! Come on Webb, let's get this over with." Sam headed for the office door not waiting for AJ to dismiss her or to see if Webb was following her.

Webb was behind her and once in the elevator they talked about whose car to take, in the end it was decided they needed to take both of them. If Sam was going to be dead at home then her car would need to be there at home with her. Webb would also need his so he could leave once she had been 'killed'. She gave him her address and they both headed to their cars.

She let Webb in once they arrived at her apartment almost at the same time. "Okay Webb, let's get this over with," she told him.

"How long have you been in love with him?" he asked as soon as they were inside the apartment.

"What?!" exclaimed Sam.

"How long have you been in love with him?" he repeated.

"Who are you talking about?" she asked to give herself more time to adjust to what he was asking.

"Chegwidden, and don't bother to deny it, I'm a trained observer."

"Why in the world would you think that I have feelings for him?"

"The looks you kept throwing at him," Webb paused and then added, "and he feels the same about you."

Sam snorted, "Now I know you're crazy!" she stated then started laughing.

"Believe it or not, but I know what I saw."

Before Sam could respond to that comment there was a knock on the door.

"I think that means the make-up artist is here," Webb said.

Sam checked the peep hole in the door and told Webb she didn't know who it was, so he looked and nodded that he knew the man.

It took about forty-five minutes to get her ready for her close up. They took the picture and Major Bell was dead.

After Webb and the artist left Sam changed into civies. She packed the few things that she wanted to keep and left Major Bell's life behind. At Sam Blaze's apartment she unpacked and called Gibbs.

She explained what had happened to him and that Major Bell was dead.

"So what happened to Moore then? Did you arrest her?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"That would have been a bit hard since she was the one that killed me Gibbs," Sam answered sarcastically.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"So Chegwidden is going to take care of her then?"

"I hope not, but I don't know…"

"What the hell do you mean 'you hope not'?!" he interrupted with a snarl.

"I mean that she is a single mother whose son's life was being held in the balance. She was not going to profit from what they wanted to do unless you consider her son's life a profit! So I'm hoping AJ just sends her home to her son."

"So she gets no punishment at all?"

"Unless you don't consider having her son kidnapped and held hostage punishment!"

Gibbs was silent for a moment and then asked, "What are Chegwidden's plans to get the kid back?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't let me in on the rescue because I was 'dead'!" she snapped.

"I'll check with him later," Gibbs offered.

"I'll be in the office tomorrow," she said with a sad tone in her voice.

"Tomorrow is your birthday Sam, take the day off and I will take you out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate."

"I don't feel much like celebrating Gibbs. Why don't we do that next year?" she countered.

"You are not sitting home alone on your birthday. We don't have to celebrate but I am taking you to dinner so no more arguments! Got it?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'll go to dinner with you."

"I'll pick you up at 1830."

"Fine, now I'm going to take a hot bath and go to bed."

"Bed?! It's the middle of the afternoon!" Gibbs gasped in amazement.

"I know that but I've never been more exhausted. See you tomorrow Gibbs," she said and hung up, going to do just what she told him.

After dumping some of her favorite bath beads into the hot bath water she poured herself a glass of wine then undressed and slid into the tub. She had told Gibbs the truth about how tired she was and she actually fell asleep in the tub. Glad that she had finished her wine and put up her empty glass before she did.

After Samantha and Webb had left, AJ dismissed the MPs because he wouldn't have Ensign Moore arrested if she had only committed one of the two murders she was supposed to have done. Once he had made the call he faced Ensign Moore and told her, "You're free for now Ensign because we can't have you in the brig and still be able to keep up the story that you're still in play to kill Admiral Morris."

"Yes Sir," she agreed in a timid voice.

"You need to call Grant now and set up a meeting to trade the photo of Major Bell for a live site of your son for proof of life."

With a gulp she nodded her agreement. Making the call, it did take some convincing to get Grant to agree to the live meet. He insisted that a phone call should be enough. Carla insisted that he could tape Kasey's voice and that she would not provide the proof until she could 'see' her son. Finally Grant agreed and they set up a time and place to meet later that evening.

AJ told her that she would be watched the entire time, but he was also going to be working on a plan to rescue Kasey at the meeting.

Tiner wondered why the MPs showed up in his office and then also without reason left after a phone call from the Admiral. He was also a bit surprised when Ensign Moore came out of his office looking like she had been crying at one point. Her eyes were puffy and red even though there were no tears evident at the time. Jason watched Carla go back to her desk and was left to wonder what was going on.

He stopped focusing on what had happened when the Admiral told him to get Commanders Rabb and Turner, Colonel Mackenzie, and Lieutenant Roberts. Tiner made the calls to get the four into the Admiral's office and now he had something new to wonder about!

Once all four of them were in AJ's office he instructed them to sit down and began to explain what was going on. After they were all up to speed on the situation AJ took a moment to look all of them over before going on with the part of the plan that involved them.

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"So the plan is to rescue her son while Ensign Moore is meeting Grant to show him proof that she killed Major Bell. I'm asking for your help."

Harm, Mac, and Bud all quickly indicated that they were willing to help. At the same time that Sturgis was saying, "But we're lawyers!" He was looking at the others in amazement at their quick almost eager desire to go.

"Sturgis if you prefer not to go, I'll understand," AJ told him.

"Sir, I guess if everyone else is going I'll tag along as well. Someone needs to watch out for Rabb."

"Alright then, here is the plan," he told them and laid it all out before them.

The meet was set. AJ and his team arrived early so they could get set up. Everyone was in place and knew what part they were to play. Bud was charged with keeping an eye on Carla even though AJ was ninety eight percent sure that she wouldn't run off and leave her son behind. Figuring that Kasey would respond better to a woman, Mac was going to be the one to approach Kasey as the rest of them would make sure Brandon Grant would not harm either Kasey or Carla once he had proof that Major Bell was dead.

When all was said and done everything went off without a hitch. The meeting was to take place in the parking lot of a large grocery store. Brandon Grant showed up in a van with Kasey tied up in the back. Ensign Moore did her part even though she became very emotional when she saw her tied and gagged son in the back of the van.

But her peek at Kasey was very short so no one else saw the bound and gagged child in the van. She then showed Grant the picture of the 'dead' Major Bell and she promised to take care of Admiral Morris as soon as she possibly could.

Once Carla moved away from the van, Grant started around the vehicle towards the driver's door. Mac moved closer to the passenger side of the van so she could get to Kasey quickly.

The three men converged on Grant as he got to the front of the van and he was handcuffed and taken away by Harm and Sturgis. AJ moved around the side of the van as Mac opened the sliding door and quickly assured Kasey that she was here to rescue him.

Mac untied him and removed his gag as AJ motioned for Bud to bring Carla forward so she could be reunited with her son. They fell into each other's arms both crying with joy to be back together again.

Webb had arranged for a safe house for Carla and her son to stay at until Davis- Marciniak was dealt with. Mac agreed to be the one to escort Carla and Kasey to the safe house where they would be met with agents who would stay with them as long as was needed.

AJ thanked Harm, Sturgis, and Bud, telling them they could go home now the job was done. He returned home wondering what Samantha Blaze was going to be doing now that her time at JAG was done. 'She would probably go back to her duties at NCIS,' he thought.

The next day Webb's team worked Brandon Grant over trying to get him to give up Davis-Marciniak. Webb checked in with AJ just as he was about to leave work that day. Clay reported that they were making progress with Grant and that he would keep AJ updated when he had more news.

Every time he walked through the bullpen that day AJ thought of Samantha Blaze and as he got back to his office he wondered how long it would be until he no longer did that.

At lunch Gibbs called Sam to find out where she wanted to go for dinner in case it was somewhere he needed to make a reservation to get in. She told him her favorite place was Callisto's, he liked Italian so had no problem wanting to take her there. After hanging up he called Callisto's even though he didn't need to make a reservation there, he did want to let them know that it was Sam's birthday and he wanted them to do something special for her.

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

When Gibbs picked her up he discovered that she had changed her mind about celebrating. Or at least it seemed that way by the way she was dressed. She had on a really pretty emerald green dress and her hair was flowing down her back with lots of curls. Smiling at him she grabbed her gold clutch purse and they walked out to his car.

They had placed their order and their drinks had arrived. Beer for Gibbs and Sam had ordered red wine. They Gibbs opened his jacket and handed her a long slender box beautifully wrapped. She gave him an arched brow and he returned the look with a half grin.

Unwrapping it and opening the box inside she saw a beautiful gold charm bracelet. She had not been expecting such an extravagant gift, she gasped, "Oh Gibbs!"

It was time to go home and once again he needed to go through the bullpen. His eyes were drawn to Samantha's empty desk and he realized that if she no longer worked at JAG he could see her. But then all the lies came to mind. Not that she had a choice from what she had told him. However, he had to wonder if anything else was false. On top of that, she had never indicated that she had any interest in him at all.

With a sigh he decided to treat himself to dinner out so he didn't have to make a meal when he got home. Callisto's was his favorite place so he stopped in there.

Maria showed him to his seat and because of how many times he had been there he didn't even need to look at the menu, he just placed his order as soon as his waitress arrived. It was only a few seconds after she had left the table he heard a voice that sounded familiar call out a name that was also familiar.

His eyes searched the room for the pair and spotted Gibbs after only a few moments. He was with a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair whose voice had been familiar. They she turned a bit and it hit him! Gibbs was having dinner with Samantha Blaze! As he looked on in shocked Gibbs reached into the box she was holding and pulled out a gold bracelet that he clasped around her wrist.

AJ couldn't watch the two of them on a date together with the added stab of Gibbs giving her jewelry. He got to his feet and walked to the front of the restaurant. "Maria something has come up, can you have them pack up my dinner to go, please?"

"Of course Admiral AJ!" she told him and called the kitchen to make the request. Just a few minutes later his meal was handed to him, he paid for it and left a hefty tip for bailing on his waitress.

Well now he had his answer as to whether she could be interested in him or not. He couldn't believe she was dating Gibbs!

By the time he got home AJ just decided that he didn't even want the dinner in his hand. Putting it in the refrigerator, he removed his uniform then took a quick shower and went right to bed. Then he couldn't sleep. All he could see over and over was Gibbs putting that gold bracelet on her wrist.

"Gibbs this is beautiful, but it's too much!" Sam protested.

"I'd love to take the credit Sam, but you should read the card in the box," he told her.

She gave him a look that said, if this is from whom I think it's from you're going to be sorry' then reached for the card and her suspicion was confirmed. The card read, 'Have a nice birthday, Sam' and was signed, your father.

Sam simply put the card back in the box and then removed the bracelet and did the same with it. "You can give this back to him Gibbs."

"Sam, he's your father! All he wanted was for you to have a great birthday."

"No, he wanted me to have a 'nice' birthday. Gibbs you know he wanted a son and all he got was me. He made sure that all my life I have known that. So please return the gift the next time you see him," Sam told him calmly with no emotion at all showing in either her voice or face.

To be continued…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Gibbs knew that was what did it for him. If she had been hurt, sad, or even angry, he might have resisted returning the bracelet, but with her showing no feeling at all he knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind. He took the box she was holding out to him and slid it back into his jacket pocket. "Sam I think…"

Before Gibbs could say anything more, their food arrived at the table, Sam gave him a tired grin and said, "Saved by the food." Then she started to eat. Gibbs wouldn't have described it as 'shoveling' her food in, but it was a controlled steady process that left no room for talking. Once one forkful was in her mouth she was filling her fork again so the moment she was done chewing she was ready for another bite. There was no conversation and the evening ended early.

At her apartment she simply said, "Good night Gibbs. See you at work tomorrow," and closed the door between them.

You would think, because of what had happened at the restaurant, that her thoughts that evening as she got ready for bed would have been about her father, but they weren't, they were about the same person they had been about since she had seen him last, AJ Chegwidden.

The next morning AJ was in the break room when Mac arrived and warned her, "You might need a splash of water in there this morning Mac."

She looked at him in surprise. "Sir after all this time you must know I like it as strong as you do!" she told him as she poured a mug full and then took a sip before he could get another warning out…

"But this morning…"

Her eyes widened as the brew hit her tongue and without another word poured a bit out in the sink so she would have room for some water. After taking another sip in the hopes of taking the coating off of her tongue, she asked, "Why Sir?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night and figured I would need the extra kick to keep me alert."

"Sir that kick would keep a corpse alert!"

AJ almost spewed the drink he had just taken all over her. Barely managing to keep the mouthful he had taken contained he managed to swallow just in time.

"Oh good! You guys haven't finished the pot yet," Bud exclaimed as he rushed into the room and went right for the coffee. Before either of the two could warn him about the strength of the brew Bud added, "I was up all night with Little AJ. He was running a fever and I figured I could use the stronger stuff that you guys drink today." Taking a sip from the mug he'd just poured his eyes widened to saucers and he dumped the rest of it down the drain.

"Too strong Bud?" AJ asked suppressing a huge grin.

"Not at all Sir," Bud gasped out. "But that one sip should keep me awake until Sunday."

"Bud its only Thursday," Mac replied.

"I know," he muttered as he left the room.

The two left behind tried to hold their laughter until Bud reached his office but they didn't make it. He heard them before he was halfway there. They headed to their own offices just a few moments later.

Other than the staff meeting that morning AJ stayed in his office. He even had Tiner reheat the meal he had gotten from Callisto's the night before and had put in the break room fridge that morning.

AJ had just gotten in his Escalade to go home when his cell phone rang, "Chegwidden," he answered.

"Well I hope so since that's who I called," Webb told him.

"What do you want Webb? I'm off work for the day."

"Okay, I won't bother you. Agent Blaze and I will take down Davis-Marciniak on our own."

"Agent Blaze?"

"You might know her as Major Bell," Webb said with a sneer.

"I know Major Bell was really Agent Blaze! I just didn't know you did," AJ snapped.

"I'm CIA Chegwidden, I know everything."

"You've broken Grant? What did he tell you?" AJ demanded, changing the subject.

"So now you want in…still interested in Agent Blaze aren't you?"

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"I am interested in taking down Davis-Marciniak. Now if you have a plan in place I want in on it."

"I figured that you would, wait there I am almost there and we will need to take you vehicle to pick her up…as long as you don't mind."

"I'll let the gate know you're coming."

A short time later Clay pulled into the parking lot in his tiny red sports car. He parked next to AJ's Escalade and climbed into the passenger side.

"I'll need the address," AJ told Clay.

"I'll punch it into your GPS," Webb told him as he did so.

"So what is the plan Webb?"

"We are going to pick up Agent Blaze and then meet up with two other agents who will have Grant with them. Grant has set up a meeting with Davis-Marciniak to supposedly provide him with proof of Admiral Morris' death. We discovered why Davis-Marciniak wanted Morris dead. Morris sentenced Zepher Davis- Marciniak's stepdaughter who was a Navy Lieutenant, to the brig where she was killed by another prisoner. It seemed Zepher had an intimate relationship with her after his wife died under suspicious circumstances."

"You think Zepher killed his wife or had her killed so he could be with her daughter?" AJ wanted to know.

"That can be one of the questions you ask him once we have him in custody," Webb replied.

"I'll put it on my list," AJ told him just as the GPS announced that they had arrived at their destination. "Are you going to get her?" he asked Webb as they parked in front of her apartment building.

Before Webb could answer Sam came out of the building and approached the Escalade. She nodded to AJ as she climbed into the back on the driver's side. Every time he looked in the review mirror he met her eyes. AJ found that he kept looking back more than he needed to.

The ride was unusually quiet, unless Webb asked either of the other two a question they weren't talking. Spending the time instead looking at each other in the mirror. AJ was almost sorry when they arrived at the meeting spot, but at least he had the ride home to look forward to.

All three of them got into the over sized van where the other two CIA agents Simpson and North were there with Grant.

The bulletproof vest was fitted on Grant by Simpson after Webb had wired him up so everyone in the van could see and hear what went on during the meeting. As soon as they had arrived North had left the van to find a place in the boat storage shed where Zepher had set the meet. He was one of the CIA's best snipers so he was stationed in the building to protect Grant.

Grant and Zepher were both supposed to arrive at the meet alone so Simpson, Webb, AJ, and Sam would stay in the van watching and listening from the camera and wire that Grant was wearing.

When Grant walked into the building Zepher came out of the office area with his two body guards, one on either side of him.

Brandon Grant was suddenly very nervous, he had been prepared to meet Zepher alone not with two others with him.

"Alright Grant I'm here, show me the proof that Morris is dead."

"You said you were going to come alone Mr. Davis-Marciniak," Grant stated in a shaky voice.

"I never go anywhere without my body guards, so in essence I am alone. Now where is the proof that Morris is dead?!"

"I ummm have it, it's just not with me."

"What do you mean you don't have it with you?!" Zepher snarled.

"I have it in a good hiding place…because…I ummm I want more money!"

"He's going off script!" Webb exclaimed to the three others in the van.

"Shut up Webb, and pay attention!" AJ snapped as he motioned to the screen showing the men inside the building. Zepher's body guards had pulled out their guns and Grant was backing away.

"You don't have the proof Morris is dead do you?" Zepher asked and before Grant could answer followed it up with, "He's not even dead is he?"

"Ummm…" Grant dithered.

Zepher nodded and the body guard on his left shot Grant who gasped and fell to the ground.

To be continued…


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

AJ, Webb, Sam, and Simpson all ran out of the van as soon as they saw the body guards draw their guns. When the shot that hit Grant sounded they were entering the building with their own guns drawn.

When Zepher and his guards saw the four from the van run in the guards pulled Zepher to safety and started leading him out of the building towards the boats.

AJ and the others moved to follow them when the two other guards that had been hidden until them popped up above the side rail of the boat that was in for repair. They began to fire at the four from the van. AJ made sure Sam got behind some nearby crates with him. Webb and Simpson dove to the other side of the opening where Grant laid on the floor.

Shots were flying back and forth and Grant moaned in pain. Realizing that he had been hit in the vest he was wearing and was still alive. Simpson moved out from behind cover to pull Grant to safety. AJ seeing what he was doing started to give him cover fire and Sam joined in.

Webb saw that they were keeping the two in the boat busy, stood to take aim at Zepher.

"AJ have you noticed that Agent North has not been shooting?" Sam asked him.

"Now that you mentioned it, you're right," he agreed. "See if you can spot him," he instructed as he kept firing at the two in the boat.

Sam looked up into the rafters and spotted Agent North finally taking aim to shoot someone, but it wasn't who he was supposed to be aiming at. His sites were set on the one that was aiming at Zepher Davis-Marciniak. Calling out, "Webb look out!" She took a shot at North as she dived at Webb to knock him out of the way. Her shot rang out hitting North in the shoulder at the same time as North fired.

Webb had been knocked to the ground and found Sam laying on top of him. Meanwhile Simpson had pulled Grant behind the crate and out of the line of fire.

"No time for that Webb," Simpson taunted when he saw Sam laying on top of the Deputy Director.

"Not funny," Webb snapped. "Blaze you can get off of me now." He got no response from Sam and when he tried to move out from under her, she moaned. He got worried. Bringing his hands up to gently move her off of him what he saw caused dread in his heart even though many claimed he had none. There was blood on his left hand and he knew he hadn't been hit.

"Simpson, help me," Webb ordered and the two of them rolled Sam off and gently put her on the ground.

While this was going on AJ had taken out both men on the boat. One he shot in the neck as he popped his head up to take a shot and the other one he shot through a spot on the ship that needed repair. He was looking around for North when he noticed Samantha being laid on the floor by Webb and Simpson.

There was blood on her shirt on the right side just above her waist. Her eyes fluttered open as Webb called her name. "Ohhhh," she moaned.

"Samantha," AJ called out.

"I've got her AJ! Davis-Marciniak is getting away. You and Simpson go after them!" Webb instructed.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Sam told them.

Hearing that reassurance from her AJ nodded and said, "Come on Simpson," and started out of the building to go after Zepher and his two guards that were heading to the line of boats tied up at the pier.

Webb pressed his silk handkerchief on the wound in her side. Because of the material it really didn't do much good. When he held it up, Sam saw the problem too. "There's a first aid kit in the van," she told him.

"I can't leave you and Grant!" Webb stated.

"I'll watch Grant, go," she ordered.

He nodded knowing that he needed to do that for her. Getting up he headed to the van to get the kit.

Webb was halfway to the van when Grant struggled to his feet preparing to run away.

"If you take one step I'll shoot you," Sam said and when Grant turned to look at her in shock he saw her laying there with her gun pointed at him!

Grant sat back down muttering, "Damn! Damn! Damn!"

To be continued…


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Returning to the building, Webb was about to enter when he heard a shot ring out. Drawing his gun he raced into the building. He saw North laying on the ground bleeding from both his shoulder and a new wound in his leg. Sam was sitting up leaning against the crate looking very pale. She nonetheless smiled at him and said, "He was getting away."

"He's one of us!" Webb exclaimed.

"Oh? Then why was he aiming at you when you were going to shoot Davis- Marciniak? He was the one that shot me!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I think I would know who shot me!" she stated sarcastically.

Going over to the man that until a few moments ago Webb thought was a loyal Agent, he ordered, "Explain yourself North!" as he was handcuffing him.

"The bitch shot me! TWICE!" North shouted.

"You should be glad it wasn't me!" Webb snapped.

"Why's that?" North snarled.

"Because if you had shot me, I wouldn't have shot you in the leg!"

Then all of a sudden they heard a rain of gun fire from out near the pier.

"AJ," Sam gasped.

Webb came back over to her as she tried to get up. Then sirens joined the sounds of gunfire. He got the gauze out of the first aid kit and pressed it to her wound causing her to moan slightly. "Can you hold this in place so I can check on Chegwidden?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes please go," she told Clay all the while praying that AJ was alright.

The paramedics arrived a few minutes after Webb left. They treated both her and North, whom they handcuffed to the stretcher they put him on.

When AJ and Simpson followed Davis-Marciniak and his two body guards they kept as low as they could using anything they could for cover. Every few steps the guards would turn around and fire some shots off as they ran for a boat at the end of the pier. They covered Zepher until he jumped onto the boat and then quickly followed him.

AJ knew they needed to stop the three of them before they could get the boat moving out to the open water. He sped up and Simpson tried to keep up. AJ was having a hard time focusing on the job he needed to do, his mind kept darting to Samantha and how she was doing.

Simpson poked his head up to take a shot at one of the guards. His shot hit the hull of the boat within inches of where the guard stood. Unfortunately the guards shot rang true and hit Simpson in the throat. AJ shot back and hit the guard between the eyes. He made his way to Simpson's side, but he was already gone. Simpson had bled out.

Looking at the boat, AJ saw Davis-Marciniak pointing in his direction. As the guard jumped over the side of the boat to come after him, AJ put a shot in his thigh. Racing over to the guy while he was still recovering from the shock of the shot he kicked the gun away from his hand.

He jumped onto the boat and ran to the cockpit. Zepher's back was to him, "Max?" he called out when AJ approached the door.

"No," he answered Zepher. "Put your hands up so I don't have to shoot you."

AJ couldn't see that Zepher was slowly reaching for a gun that was laying on the consol in front of him. Zepher put one hand in the air as he slowly started to turn around with the gun in his hand. As he came face to face with AJ he was about to pull the trigger when the gun was shot from his hand. Cussing he grabbed his wounded hand and doubled over. Because he wasn't carrying handcuffs AJ grabbed some rope that was laying on the floor of the boat and tied both of Zepher's hands behind his back even though one was bleeding.

Marching him along in front of him, they exited the boat and AJ dragged the guard he'd shot in the leg to his feet and forced them both towards the police and EMT's that were gathering at the end of the pier.

Once he was relieved of his two prisoners AJ looked around for Samantha. He didn't see her but did see Webb, so headed over to him. Webb was standing near the back of an EMT van and when AJ got close he could see that Samantha was on a stretcher being treated by the paramedic.

To be continued…


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Sam saw AJ approaching and begged, "Will you please take me home?"

"She should go to the hospital!" the paramedic told AJ.

"Hospital?! I don't need to go to the hospital," she claimed but he could hear the pain in her voice.

"If they say you need to go, you need to go. I'll ride with you, just let me give the keys to Webb." He looked around the area and quickly spotted the spy. Going over to him, he tossed him the keys to the Escalade and told Webb to take it back to JAG. Since it was a secure lot he could put the keys in the consol between the seats and leave the door unlocked.

Webb smirked at him as he pocketed the keys and replied, "Told you so!"

AJ was back at the EMT vehicle in moments and climbed in beside the stretcher Samantha was on.

She turned to him and announced, "AJ I know how much you value honesty and I know I upset you when you found out Gibbs made me keep stuff from you, and I am sorry about that, however there is one more thing that I've been keeping from you…" Sam took a deep breath.

While she was doing that the EMT sent AJ a pitying look, sure the woman he had been treating was about to tell the guy with her that she was either a lesbian or married.

However, it turned out he was wrong and was just about as shocked as AJ at what she had to say next, "I wasn't just undercover at JAG, I am also undercover at NCIS. Gibbs doesn't know yet, but I will tell him," she looked at AJ to see how he was reacting. She had been keeping her head down staring at her clenched hands, but AJ had been quiet for so long she just had to see if she could figure out what he might be feeling from the look on his face.

His face was impassive however, when their eyes met he asked, "So who is it that you do work for?"

"I work for the FBI. They wanted me to investigate someone at JAG that they are considering offering a job to."

She paused to try and figure out what he was thinking. Instead of letting her know that he asked, "What job? And whom are they targeting at JAG?"

"They want one of your people to become a Secret Service Agent. I was sent in to determine if he was a good candidate."

"And?" AJ encouraged her to finish her story.

"He's perfect! Honorable, just, right temperament, golden in every way."

"You can't be talking about Rabb!"

"Ra…Rabb?! NO! he was never even in consideration. It was Lieutenant Bud Roberts."

"Bud?!" AJ sputtered in complete shock.

"Why are you so surprised? He is the perfect candidate. Almost too perfect. That was why I was sent in to investigate all the stories we had heard about him. I was surprised to find out that every bit of it was true. They will have someone approach him in the next day or so."

"He won't leave JAG," AJ assured her.

"Not for the Secret Service?" Sam questioned.

"Not for the Secret Service," he insisted.

"I would have to see that."

"Not everyone can be tempted by a black suit."

"Is that what you think I did?! Join the FBI to become a Secret Service Agent?"

"I don't know…I guess I'm still having a hard time with this new job. Is this the last one? Or are there three more you are keeping a secret?" he questioned.

"No, this is the last one…and again I'm so sorry about having to keep any of it a secret from you. If you never wanted to see me again I would understand."

There was a silence and then before he had a chance to answer they arrived at the hospital and the EMT who had become so fascinated by their conversation that he hadn't even realized they were that close. He was internally cursing his luck that he wouldn't get a chance to learn what AJ would have answered. The EMT wondered if he had seen the single tear that had started down her cheek before she was able to swipe it away.

To be continued…


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Once she was installed in her room AJ asked, "Should I call Gibbs for you Samantha?"

"There's no need to do anything like that," she answered.

"You almost died! Don't you want him to know?"

"Why would I need Gibbs to know?"

"Because the two of you are dating…"

She interrupted with a gasp, "Dating?! Who told you I was dating Gibbs?!"

"No one told me, I saw the two of you out together."

"You saw us? When?"

"The night before last at Callisto's"

"Oh! That was for my birthday. We aren't dating, Gibbs is my boss. I don't know why you would think that. I'm not dating anyone right now."

"I saw him give you a gold bracelet. A 'boss' doesn't usually do something like that."

"He didn't give me a bracelet." 

"Samantha, I saw him do so. You don't need to cover for him, but dating your boss might not be such a good idea since…"

Again she interrupted, "I'm NOT dating Gibbs!" Sam held up her hand when it looked like he was about to interrupt her again, then she said, "The bracelet wasn't from Gibbs he was delivering it for my father. Dating a boss is against regs anyway. That's why I disliked working at…"

"Working at where Samantha?" he asked gently.

"Never mind, it wasn't important," she told him.

"It might be very important Samantha."

"Why do you call me Samantha when everyone else calls me Sam?" she asked to change the subject.

"Because Sam is a man's name and Samantha is as beautiful as it's owner."

"Oh," she replied softly, not sure what else to say.

Deciding to go ahead and take the chance on her saying she wasn't dating anyone, he smiled at her and asked, "Samantha would you go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Shocked more than she could say, she stared at him without saying a word.

AJ sighed and said, "I guess I had it wrong. I'll leave you now."

"Wait! I don't want you to go and I'm sorry I didn't answer you, I was just so surprised that you asked me out that I didn't know what to say."

She had paused a moment to draw a breath, but he didn't know that and questioned, "And do you now?"

"Oh yes! And that is also my answer to you. Yes! I would love to go to dinner with you."

Startled but pleased at her answer he asked, "Is 1800 alright with you?"

"It is," she smiled at him.

They might have said more to each other but the nurse came in and told him visiting hours were long over and that he needed to leave.

With a sigh she said, "Good night AJ."

Kissing the back of the hand he held he said, "I will see you tomorrow evening Samantha. Good night." He turned and left.

All she could think about as she drifted off to sleep was what to wear. Did she have the right thing or should she go shopping tomorrow?

She took a cab home from the hospital the moment she was allowed to leave and when she got there she cleaned her apartment as she ran through her wardrobe in her mind and decided on a silk top in midnight blue that had spaghetti straps and black silk dress slacks to go with it. AJ called just after noon to tell her he couldn't get reservations until 1900, and would pick her up at 1830 instead of 1730, and wondered if that would still be okay with her.

She told him it would be fine with her and then had to rethink the slacks she'd been planning on wearing. Any place that he would have a problem getting the reservations time he wanted had to be too fancy a place to wear slacks. Going to her closet she pulled out a scarlet red top that was a twin to the blue one she had been planning on and a cream colored silk skirt with a tulip cut.

Pleased with her choice she finished dusting and vacuuming her apartment then shaved her legs as she took a shower. Deciding to wear her hair up, she chose dangling gold earrings to compliment her outfit. Then slid into gold colored sandals and was ready to go at 1820 just in case AJ was a few minutes early.

To be continued…


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

But he wasn't early or late, he was precisely on time the way a good military man should be. Sam opened the door and found him standing there in a charcoal gray suit with a dusty blue dress shirt and a black and navy blue striped tie. He looked amazing!

He smiled wider than she had ever seen him do before, and he said, "Samantha I never thought that you could be more beautiful, I was wrong." He handed her a dozen long stemmed red roses.

"Thank you, let me put these in water before we go. Please come in while I do that."

He followed her into the apartment and looked around while she dealt with the roses. One of the things that he found missing in her home was family photos. AJ made a mental note to ask her about it later. He liked her color and style choice, they were close to his own.

She came out of the kitchen with the roses in a vase and placed them on the coffee table with a large smile, "They are very beautiful AJ. Thank you again for them. I'm ready to go now if you are."

Nodding, he told her, "I'm ready."

Sam locked the door behind them and they went to his car. AJ held the car door open for her and waited until she had fastened her seat belt before closing it and walking around to the driver's side.

They drove in silence at first, both of them seemed a bit unsure of themselves and how to start the conversation. Sam thought about thanking him again for the flowers but then thought it might be too much. AJ thought about asking her about the lack of family pictures, but then thought it might be too soon.

Finally they both spoke at the same time:

AJ asked, "Would you like to know where we are going?" at the same time she inquired, "Will you tell me where we are going?"

Both laughed and AJ told her, "I made reservations at the Willard. I hope you will like it."

"Isn't that a hotel?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"It is," he admitted. "But the top floor is a world famous restaurant and that is where I made the reservations."

"Oh," was all she said and he wasn't sure if she was happy or disappointed with his answer.

Neither of them said anything more until they arrived at the Willard. AJ pulled up under the awning and the valets hurried over to open both their doors. AJ handed over the keys and took the ticket the valet handed him then hurried over to Samantha's side. "There is a dedicated elevator to the restaurant right here," he told her pointing out the one he meant. When they got inside she could see there was only one button to push. AJ pushed it and they started up. When the doors opened they stepped out into the restaurant.

AJ gave his last name to the hostess and she smiled, then asked them to follow her and showed them to their table.

"Shall I order a bottle of red wine?" he asked her once they were handed them their menus.

"Are you sure we need a bottle? A glass or two should be fine," she answered.

"But by the time we've gotten four glasses we've almost drank a bottle, and we can take any left overs home," AJ answered.

"Alright then, that sounds good," Sam replied.

When their waiter arrived Sam told him she also ready to order. So once AJ had selected which wine he wanted for them, Sam ordered a medium rare filet with mushroom and shallot gravy, scalloped potatoes and roasted asparagus.

AJ looked at her in amazement and then said with a grin, "That sounds fantastic. I'll have the same thing!"

The waiter left and Sam looked at AJ and teased, "Copy cat!"

"I beg your pardon?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm so sorry AJ! I didn't mean to offend you!" she gasped out, almost looking like she was about to cry.

He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. "No Samantha I am the one that is sorry! I was trying to tease you rather than upset you. I guess it's just been so long since I've tried to be funny that I failed."

Sam put her free hand on top of their two, "AJ its okay as long as I didn't upset you. That's all that matters."

"Okay then how about if we start over?" he asked smiling at her.

To be continued…


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Yes that sounds wonderful, I would like that," she stated happily.

AJ thought a moment and then said, "It was a very beautiful bracelet your father had Gibbs give you."

"It was, and Gibbs was directed to return it the first chance he got."

"Return it? Why? It looked like it fit, unless you prefer silver or platinum."

"The material was not the issue nor the fit. My father and I do not have a very good relationship…" she paused for breath before going on, but AJ couldn't not comment.

"I am so sorry for bringing up such an upsetting subject."

"It's alright. At this point I no longer get upset. All my life my father made it clear to me that I wasn't the son he wanted and since my mother was not able to have any more children there wouldn't be any chance of another child. She died when I was born so my father raised me in an atmosphere of disapproval. It wasn't pleasant. I left as soon as I was able."

"I'm sorry that you had such a difficult childhood. But it appears that your life turned out pretty well. Wasn't your father proud of you being in the Navy and now at FBI?"

"Ummm not really. My father is General Samuel Blaze. He is Army all the way, I actually joined the Navy as an act of rebellion. He wanted me to join the Army like him," she replied.

"I'm guessing he was not happy about that," he suggested.

"Not at all," she told him.

"So on top of not being a son you were also in the Navy instead of the Army. That pretty much put the last nail in the coffin."

"Yes it did, but that was several years ago and I've come to terms with it. He's gone from my life."

"But he couldn't be that far out of your life if he sent you such a nice birthday present," AJ protested.

"Oh he is, the present was just to remind me that I killed my mother."

"Killed your mother?!" he exclaimed. "You said she died when you were born…oh no! He blamed you for her death?!"

"Bingo," she reported sadly.

"Oh Samantha I'm so sorry!"

"It's certainly no more your fault that it is mine, but try and tell a grieving husband that."

"Still, you were his child!"

"A girl child whose birth killed his beloved wife."

"But…"

"AJ," she interrupted, "I would really not like to discuss this anymore."

"Alright Samantha I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive AJ, honestly."

Just then their food arrived and talk was put on hold for time while they tasted their food. Conversation continued as they ate:

"How is your steak cooked?" he asked.

"It's perfect and this gravy is wonderful!"

"So is the roasted asparagus."

When they finished their meal AJ asked if she would like desert. However, she insisted she was too full to eat any more. They he mentioned the triple chocolate cheesecake that was on the menu and Sam groaned.

"How can you tempt me like that?!" she practically wailed.

"I take it then that you might like to share a slice with me if I ordered one?" he inquired with a taunting grin.

"No, I'll have a slice of my own and if I can't finish it I can take what is left home."

He laughingly called the waiter over and ordered two slices of the oh so tempting cheesecake.

Her sigh of delight as she ate it was nearly his undoing. He mentally thanked god that she could only eat half of it before asking for a to-go container.

The band had started to play just as they finished dinner so when her cheesecake was packed up, AJ asked her if she wanted to dance.

With a suddenly shy smile Sam nodded and took the hand he held out and followed him to the dance floor. They danced for nearly an hour before he caught her trying to stifle a yawn.

I should get you back home so you can head to bed," he stated leading her back to the table so she could get her cheesecake.

"As much as I hate to admit it I think you're right."

To be continued…


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The ride to her apartment seemed so much faster than the trip to the Willard had been. Sam was sorry to arrive at her because she wasn't sure the date had gone well enough that AJ would want a second one. She was really afraid all the talk about her father had spoiled the mood.

He got out of the Escalade and came around to her side. Opening her door he offered her a hand out of the vehicle and he kept hold of it as they walked to her door.

Sam turned to AJ and told him, "I had a wonderful time tonight, thank you."

"I also had a wonderful time and I hope that we can do it again very soon."

She was so surprised by his answer, "Really?! I thought for sure that with all that talk about my father would have scared you off," she said as a single tear slid down her cheek.

AJ put a finger under her chin and with his other hand he wiped away her tear and told her, "Samantha I don't scare easy and learning what you had been through with your father impressed me greatly to see what a strong and confident woman you have become. Never think you can scare me off, unless you don't want me to be involved in your life."

"Oh AJ I would love to be involved with you."

"Then you shall be," he assured her as he bent his head until their lips met.

Sam had been kissed before but never as tenderly as AJ was kissing her now. It felt like he was treating her like spun glass.

When he barely lifted his mouth off her lips she almost cried. She didn't want the kiss to end.

"I should let you go in now," AJ whispered almost against her lips.

"Must you?" she questioned.

She felt him smile then he finally straightened up, "Yes, I need to go before I can't. Will you go out with me tomorrow evening?"

With a sad sigh, for him parting from her, she smiled at him and suggested instead, "Why don't you let me cook for you instead?"

He grinned widely, "I would love that! What could I bring to help out?"

"Oh you don't have to do that!" she protested.

"That may be but my mother taught this Texas boy not to accept a dinner invitation without contributing something."

"Oh, then how about a desert? Would that be okay?"

"That would be fine. What time would you like me to arrive?"

"How about 1800?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then," he said as he started down the sidewalk.

Sam spent the night dreaming about that incredible kiss.

While AJ dreamt of how he'd felt when Samantha had gotten shot and his relief when he found out she had only been grazed. Then his dream finished with them dancing, holding her in his arms had been so wonderful.

AJ got up the next day and did what he usually did on the weekend, he ran ten miles in the woods behind his home. After a shower he did some of the paperwork he brought home. Then after a quick lunch he went outside with a basket over his arm. He went over to the mulberry tree near his garage and picked some of the berries. Once he had enough he went over to his garden and picked raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

Back in the house he rinsed the berries and put them in a large pot with a little sugar. While that cooked he prepared a crumble topping. Once the berries had broken down enough he poured them into a glass cake pan, spread the crumble over the top then placed it in the oven to bake. While it was cooking he did some house work. He took the cobbler out when it was finished then went to take a shower.

Dressing for his date with Samantha he wondered where this might go. He hoped that Samantha might feel the same way as he did. After that kiss last night his hopes were high that she might. Putting some tin foil over the cobbler he packed it up with the ingredients for home made whipped cream he was ready to leave for her apartment, right on time.

To be continued…


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Sam had gotten up that morning wondering what she could make for dinner that would impress AJ. She was a pretty good cook but she really wanted to show off her talents. Then it came to her and she relaxed with only the decision of whether to make rice or pasta to go with the grilled bacon wrapped honey BBQ shrimp and steamed green beans she had decided to make. She hoped AJ would like it.

She let AJ in when he arrived and he took a deep breath and said, "Whatever you are making smells fantastic!"

"Thank you, I hope you'll like it. Come in, everything will be ready very soon."

"May I put these things in your refrigerator?" he asked indicating the bags he was carrying.

"Oh course, go ahead, I just need to finish putting the food on the table."

AJ joined her and looked over the food, "This looks wonderful Samantha."

"Please serve yourself and I hope that you enjoy it," Sam offered and was very pleased at the amount of food he took. He was either very hungry or thought the shrimp and beans would taste as good as they smelled and looked.

"I've never had shrimp like this before. It's fantastic! I hope that you will show me how to make it one day."

"You cook?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes, when I got married neither one of us cooked. So one of us had to learn because on my Navy pay we couldn't afford to eat out for every meal. My wife informed me that as a Mayor's daughter she'd always had cooks and had no intention of ever learning to cook, so I had to."

"Forgive me, but she sounds like she was a very selfish woman."

"She was, but since she'd gotten pregnant right after we married, I felt I should do that for her. I met and married her in Italy and took her out of her home country when we moved to the US. She hated how long I would be gone on missions. I couldn't even tell her where I was going on my SEAL missions. When our daughter was two and I was on deployment she took Francesca and went back to Italy. I came home to find them gone. She filed for divorce and remarried when Francesca was seven and changed her last name without my permission. I lost contact with my daughter for years, until three years ago she contacted me and we started building a relationship. It's so nice having her back in my life."

"I'm really glad the two of you reconnected. You must have really missed her during the years you were apart. How often do you get to see each other?"

"Not as often as we like but we talk on the phone once or twice a week and email a lot. So we do have a lot of contact," he sounded just a bit sad as he talked about his daughter.

"I'm sorry my questions bothered you AJ," she said covering his hand with hers.

"You didn't, please don't worry about that. I love talking about her and we have a lot more contact than we did for all those years apart so it's good. So are you ready for the desert that I brought? I will need a few minutes to make the whipped cream."

"Yes I'm very ready. What did you make?"

"A berry cobbler," he answered simply as he headed for the kitchen. Sam followed him to show him where anything he might need was.

She watched as he expertly whipped up the cream and pointed out the few things he needed and then finally the plates he wanted to serve it up with. The color in the cobbler was beautiful and she just couldn't wait to try it.

Her first bite made her know that she would promise him anything to get the recipe. "AJ I have never tasted a better cobbler in all my life! I can tell you used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, but it seems like there is another flavor in there that I can't place. Will you tell me what it is?"

He smiled at her and said, "Well I did put a bit of sugar in there to help bring out the juices…"

To be continued…


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"AJ," she sighed.

"Okay," he laughed, "I added some mulberries and all of the fruit came from my garden."

"That's amazing! Well I love this and would you look down on me if I asked for another serving?"

"I could never look down on you Samantha. You are more than welcome to have more, in fact I will have more too," he told her.

When they finished eating Sam racked her brain for what to do. She didn't want AJ to leave so early, but she couldn't think of a thing to keep him there.

As these thoughts were running through his mind AJ offered, "Now let me help you with the dishes."

She was about to protest that a guest should not have to do dishes but then it came to her that this was a way to keep him there longer. "Well if you're sure you don't mind, I would love the help."

As they worked together cleaning up the kitchen she told him, "I heard Bud Roberts had been approached today and offered a chance to become a Secret Service Agent."

AJ was surprised that she would bring up something so major so causally. Taking a deep breath he asked, "What did he decide?"

"He told them he would have to think about it and talk to his wife."

"I still stand by my assurance that he won't leave JAG."

"But he didn't say no outright. He said he would have to think about it and talk to his wife."

"Bud and Harriet are very close and he would never make a decision like that without talking it over with her first."

"I did know that. It came up in my research how much in love they were and that they had a son named after you. That was nice of them."

"They had already asked me if they could name him after me before he was born but when I ended up delivering him in my office that kind of cinched the deal. They are very special people. But the thing that I know will keep them at JAG is that we are a family, and I doubt that they would leave that."

"I guess we will see."

They finished doing the dishes and she once again was looking for a reason to have him stay longer when he said, "Samantha if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to stay a bit longer."

"I was trying to come up with any idea I could think of to make that happen. Would you like to watch a movie?" she asked tentatively.

With a reassuring smile he answered, "I would love that."

"I have a collection of movies over here if you'd like to choose one," she showed him to a bookcase near the television and told him to take his pick.

"I would rather we chose one together," he told her.

"All the movies that are there are favorites of mine so anything you choose would be fine with me."

Giving in with a smile he pulled out 'Pearl Harbor'. Sam said when he handed it to her, "This is the classic version with Charleston Heston and Henry Ford rather than the new one."

"I didn't even know there was a remake," he told her with a self depreciating grin.

"Why don't we sit down and enjoy the movie…I could make some popcorn if you like but if you are as full as I am…"

"I am full as well so will pass on more food."

They sat together on the couch with his arm around her shoulders. She settled in comfortably. Just over two hours later the movie ended and AJ pulled her close with his arm. She turned her face up encouraging him to kiss her and he was happy to oblige. This kiss was as tender and sweet as the first. She couldn't believe that a man as large as AJ was could be that gentle. Sam sighed as she snuggled into him.

AJ pulled her closer so he could put his other arm around her. Because of the awkward angle of being on the couch she couldn't get her arms around him. Instead she rested both of them on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat under her hands.

To be continued…


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

When he raised his head for a moment she felt the need to tell him, "AJ I think I should tell you that I am not one for casual…I hesitate to say 'relationship' this early if you are not thinking that way…"

He placed a finger on her lips and said, "Let me stop you there, my dear. I also don't look for casual relationships. I hope I don't scare you by this but my feelings for you are already far beyond casual. I hope you don't mind."

"No woman would mind hearing that AJ and I want you to know that I feel the same, that was why I started the conversation. I wanted to tell you that although I do have feelings for you I would like to take things slowly."

"Slow is fine with me and I can assure you that I would never push you for anything you were not ready for Samantha. You just let me know if at any time you think I am moving too fast."

She smiled at him and said, "I will AJ."

"And with that I'd like one more kiss and will take my leave."

"Only one?" she questioned teasingly.

"Yes just one and the answer to will you have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"It would depend on where…"

"How about Callisto's?"

"Perfect! So yes I will!"

He stood, took her hand and walked to the door. The kiss was over much too quickly and then he was gone.

Monday was a dreary rainy day and Sam's mood felt just like the weather. She knew that she would have to go into NCIS and tell Gibbs that she was no longer working for him. It was not a conversation she was looking forward to. She was pretty sure he would be hurt even if he wouldn't show it.

That was why she had gotten dressed early and had hoped for enough of a let up in the rain that she could take a walk around the building, but the weather was not cooperating. So taking a deep breath and getting out her umbrella, she headed into the building. She had already seen Gibbs' vehicle in the parking lot so she knew he was in.

She saw him right away when she got off the elevator, what she hadn't expected was that McGee would also be there that early. She approached Gibbs and asked if she could talk to him in private.

He raised an eyebrow at her formal outfit but with a nod led the way to the conference room. She closed the door after following Gibbs into the room. She couldn't hold it in any longer so jumped in before he could start asking any questions, "Gibbs I know you aren't going to like this but I haven't actually been working for you…or I guess is should say NCIS."

His facial expression went from almost neutral to not at all happy.

"I am so sorry Gibbs but since but since I left the Navy I have been working for the FBI, and since I've finished the work I needed to do for NCIS and JAG I will have to go back to them."

She finished speaking and stood there waiting for him to say something…anything… "Gibbs?"

"I could feel that you didn't click her with us, I guess now I know why. Does your father know about this?"

"I don't know if he has been checking that much into my life, but he never heard it from me."

"I was estranged from my father for years too Sam, but when we reunited…"

"Let me stop you there Gibbs, it's not going to happen. Please let it go, and I should be going too."

As she moved back to the door he threw out one more thing at her, "How are you and Chegwidden getting along?"

Turning back to face him Sam wasn't quite sure if she should answer him or not and then she remembered his thoughtfulness in trying to get her back with her father even if she was sure it would never happen. That was why she smiled at him and said, "Fine, we are having our third date tonight."

"Good luck with that and with your career. We will miss you here."

"Thanks Gibbs, and remember I don't have to be working here for you to give me a call," she told him and walked out the door.

To be continued…


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Her first day back at the FBI was long and dull with the exception of the report she got when she came in. Bud Roberts had turned down their offer, AJ had been right!

She had reports to write, about her time at NCIS before going to JAG, then about her time at JAG, and finally about going to take down Zepher Davis-Marciniak and getting shot. Unfortunately doing this kind of paperwork left a lot of time for her mind to wander and it did all of its wandering right to AJ Chegwidden.

Every time she had to write his name or refer to him in the reports her mind would drift off to the last two nights they had spent together. And tonight they had another date. She couldn't help but let her mind think about him.

She knew the perfect dress she was going to wear. It was dark red and wrapped around on the top so it could be worn from very modest to very daring. It had a belt that tied around the waist with a skirt that flared out to make it perfect for dancing. The material was the softest jersey so it felt like wearing a cloud. She'd wear her hematite necklace and earrings, the gray/black color would go great against the color of the dress. Maybe they could go dancing after dinner.

AJ was in the office at his usual time that morning enjoying a cup of strong black coffee that Mac had made. He really wanted a chance to talk to Bud to see how he had reacted to the Secret Service offer Samantha had told him Bud had received yesterday.

Going to his office he knew what had to be done if he could keep his mind off of Samantha Blaze. He knew they had talked about taking things slow last night but his heart was running full speed ahead.

He reached for his cup of coffee and found it had gone cold while his mind had been wandering. Checking his watch he realized there would be just enough time to reheat it in the microwave before the morning briefing. Getting to his feet he headed to the break room.

Halfway across the bullpen he spotted Bud talking to Harm and Mac near the copy machine. As he approached them he heard Bud say, "You guys would not believe what happened to me yesterday!"

"Well then tell us!" Mac insisted with a laugh.

"Yes do tell us," AJ encouraged as he stopped next to the group.

Bud hesitated a minute, he had been about to share the news with his friends, but now the Admiral was there and he became unsure if this was something he should be talking about at work. Then he saw that the Admiral really looked interested rather than annoyed that his staff was having gossip time. So with a grin he went ahead and reported, "The Secret Service showed up at my house!"

"Whatever for?!" Harm interjected.

"They wanted me!" Bud told him.

"For what?!" Harm wanted to know.

"I think you would make a fine Agent, Lieutenant," AJ informed him.

"Thank you Sir!" Bud exclaimed with pleased surprise.

"They asked you to become an agent?" Mac wanted confirmation.

"Yea…" then remembering the Admiral's presence, changed it to, "Yes."

"What did you say?" asked Mac.

Bud blushed and told them, "Well I was really flattered and it was a great honor, but Harriett and I belong here. You guys are family to us! We couldn't leave JAG. So I told them no."

"Bud you turned down the Secret Service?!" Harm seemed amazed.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"Good choice Bud, you're needed here," and with a pat on the younger man's shoulder AJ headed to the break room with a grin on his face that his staff couldn't see. 'I told her so!' AJ was thinking.

"Thank you Sir!" Bud called after the Admiral with a please look on his face.

By the time AJ came out of the break room with his steaming coffee he saw the other three had disbanded. Hopefully to the conference room for the morning briefing. Heading there himself he found them all sitting around the table. Taking his own seat AJ had one last thought before they got started, he was really looking forward to telling Samantha, 'I told you so!'

To be continued…


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As the end of the work day drew near AJ packed up his briefcase and then went to the garment bag he'd brought with him because he knew he wouldn't have time to go home and back again just to change out of his uniform. He changed into his charcoal gray suit with a burgundy shirt. He had a black tie with silver stripes with him in case they went somewhere after Callisto's.

Crossing the bullpen to the break room to collect the chocolate covered strawberries that he hoped to share with Samantha at the end of their date. What AJ didn't know was that Bud was still in his office finishing up some paperwork. He saw the Admiral looking like he was dressed for a date. But wanted to get his work done quickly so he could hurry home to tell this news to Harriett.

Driving to Samantha's apartment AJ wondered what she might like to do after dinner.

Sam opened the door to his knock and the first thing on his mind had been to ask her to refrigerate the strawberries for later, but as soon as he saw her that thought flew from his mind, "Samantha you are SO beautiful!"

"Thank you AJ. You look very handsome yourself." With a grin she added, "Did you notice that we look like we dressed in matching outfits?"

"I did, and that dress looks like it was made for dancing. Would you like to do that after we have dinner?"

"I would love it. I'm ready to go now if you are."

It was then he remembered the box in his hand. "Would you put this in your refrigerator? I thought if you would want to, we could share them later."

Taking the box from his hand she put it away and then asked, "Will you tell me what it is?"

"Chocolate covered strawberries," he answered.

"Oh that sound wonderful, I can't wait to try them. Now let's go get something to eat, I'm starving!"

He led her to the Escalade and helped her in, once he had gotten in himself he could no longer wait, "So I am guessing you heard the news about Bud Roberts."

"I did, how were you so sure that he would reject the offer?"

"As I told you, we are like a family at JAG that is what he didn't want to leave. He was honored by the offer, he told us all that this morning. But JAG is home to Bud."

"Then he was right to stay where he is. I know what it's like to work in a job where you don't feel you really belong."

"Are you referring to your time in the Navy?"

"Oh no! I loved being in the Navy, but I was tasked to go with an FBI group to offer what support I could. During a soft moment I thought my father would find the FBI less abhorrent to him than my being in the Navy. So when they made me an offer to join them I did. Unfortunately it didn't have any effect on him at all. He couldn't have cared less. If I wasn't in the Marines…well you understand," she sighed.

"I am so sorry Samantha. Your father doesn't know what he's missing by not having you in his life."

"Thank you AJ you are very kind to think that."

"Samantha I don't just think it. I know it. I am going by how much I value you in my life. I hope that continues a long while."

She smiled at him as they arrived at the restaurant, "I hope so too AJ."

Pulling into a parking place he said to her, "I hope that you don't mind, but I can't wait any longer." He leaned across the seat and tilted his head until their lips met.

Sam sighed as the kiss ended, "AJ consider this my permission to do that any time you like," she leaned forward and kissed him back.

A wide smile greeted her as she pulled back, "I will do that," he answered.

They had a very enjoyable dinner and shared another kiss in the Escalade before going to a place Sam knew where they could dance together. After a couple of hours Sam asked if they might head back to her apartment and share the strawberries he had brought over.

To be continued…


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Certainty," he told her and led her out to his vehicle where they couldn't help but share another kiss…or two.

They got to her apartment and the two of them could barely get in the door before they were in each other's arms again. When they came up for air, Sam questioned with a grin, "I thought we were going to have a snack?"

"You were good to slow me down, I was moving too fast," he offered apologetically.

"Oh no!" she protested. "I was trying to slow ME down!"

"Would it be better if I left?"

"No please AJ. I want you to stay. Let's share the strawberries."

"Alright if you're sure," he agreed.

"I am," she told him and led the way to the kitchen.

They ended up feeding each other the chocolate covered treats and as sensuous as that was, the heated glances they exchanged were even hotter.

Allowing themselves only one more kiss before AJ said good night and left for home.

The next day AJ did a five mile run before heading into work and then was able to keep his hand off of the phone until the morning briefing was over. Back in his office he couldn't wait any longer to call Samantha. He was really pleased at the first words out of her mouth, but not at the way it ended up.

"Oh AJ! Wonderful! I was just about to call you. I am going out of town for a couple of days and just wanted to let you know."

"Samantha are you going to be in danger?" he wanted to know.

"AJ I am an FBI Agent headed into the field. But I do know how to take care of myself and Webb won't be along this time for me to have to rescue."

"Please be careful Darlin' and call me as soon as you are back in town."

Her heart warmed! AJ had called her darling and his care for her safety was very clear. "I promise to be careful and I will let you know when I am back."

"I'll miss you Samantha," he said quickly and then hung up. She knew she would miss him too but she had to keep her head in the game or she wouldn't be coming back at all.

AJ spent the next several days worrying about her. His mind would drift to her at any given moment. He had to remind himself to concentrate several times a day.

Late Friday night she returned exhausted and dirty. All she wanted was a hot shower and her bed, but there was one thing she wanted more than both those things and that was to hear the sound of AJ's voice. Worried that he might already be asleep she wondered if she should wait until tomorrow to call but she had promised to call as soon as she got home.

So her plan was to call and leave a message for him. At least she would hear his voice on the answering machine. As she dialed his number she tried to keep her mind off of the thought of him in bed. When the phone was answered she was wondering if he slept in pajamas or naked. That was why when he actually answered the phone it threw her off. Also he didn't answer the phone with the usual 'hello' so that threw her even more.

"Samantha is that you? Are you alright?!"

"I…ummmm…yes it's me and I am fine. I'm sorry to call so late. I thought of you in bed…ummm I mean I thought you might be in bed and I would just leave a message for you…and I will stop babbling now before I make more a fool of myself."

"Maybe I shouldn't tell you this but I am in bed, I was just reading the evening paper hoping you would call. I missed you Samantha, how did your mission go?"

"It was fine, but I am tired and dirty. I will have a hard time not picturing you in bed while I take my shower!"

"And now I will have to try and get to sleep with the image of you in the shower in my mind. Before this call gets any more risqué, and I know that you are tired so before I let you go I would love to make dinner for you tomorrow night."

To be continued…


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"I would love that AJ. What time do you want me to arrive? And is there something I can bring?"

"You shouldn't have to cook after the week you've had. Why don't we wait until next time for you to bring something?"

"I really don't mind, I love to cook. Let me bring something."

"Okay, what would you like to bring?"

"I don't know, what are you planning to make?"

"I was thinking about grilling steaks and potatoes unless you'd rather have something else?" he offered.

"No that sounds good, would you rather I bring a vegetable, salad, or desert?"

"I have ingredients for a salad so either of the others would be great."

"Okay, I'll think of something and now I'd better go or I'll fall asleep in this chair. Good night AJ."

"Good night Samantha. I'll see you tomorrow. Is 1800 alright with you?"

"Perfect, I'll see you then."

Both hung up but visions of the other plagued them until they were both able to go to sleep.

The next evening Sam arrived thirty minutes early. AJ had just gotten out of the shower and dressed. He was a bit surprised unless she thought his directions would be hard to understand. Going to the door he was nonetheless very glad to see her. He even wondered why she had a container in both hands.

"Hey," she said as she climbed the stairs to his porch. "I hope you don't mind that I'm a few minutes early I had something to add to the food on the grill."

"No, I don't mind, I was just about to tell you that I hadn't started cooking yet so I can easily put whatever you brought on with the rest."

"Good that is what I was hoping for."

"And your other package?"

"Well you left it to me whether to bring veggies or desert so I brought bacon wrapped asparagus and a chocolate chip cheesecake."

"You didn't need to bring both!" he protested.

"I know," she answered with a smile, "but I couldn't decide what to make so I had to bring both. Remember I like to cook and you'll be grilling the asparagus anyway."

"Good point. Please come in and we can put the cheesecake in the fridge and get everything else started."

"You have a lovely home," she told him as they walked through the house to the kitchen.

"Thank you. I'll remove the food for the grill and then you should have plenty of room for the cheesecake."

"Okay I'll take care of that if you'll take this to the grill with you and then I'll follow you."

"See you out there," he replied and took meat and potatoes out of the fridge.

Sam quickly did what she needed to do and followed AJ onto the back patio where the grill was going. "You have a beautiful garden, will you give me a tour after dinner?"

"I'd be happy to."

The dinner was fantastic and cooked to perfection. They had decided to eat outside because the evening was so nice. Before they had desert AJ gave her a tour of his garden. The only trouble with the idea of giving their dinner time to settle and develop more room for the cheesecake was that at every bush or tree they stopped at AJ offered her a sample. She had to laugh because she was more full after the tour.

So they decided to watch a movie without popcorn! They laughed as they both thought of it at the same time. This time AJ told Samantha it was her turn to choose a movie from his collection. She found that they were both John Wayne fans. Sam loved 'Hellfighters', 'McClintock', 'Green Berets', and then she saw the one that would be perfect for the evening. She pulled out 'The Quiet Man' off the shelf and asked AJ if that would be okay.

With a tender smile he said, "That's perfect. Let me put it in and we can settle on the couch."

The movie was so romantic and they were cuddled very close on the couch. It was hard not to steal a few kisses throughout the show. By the end of the movie they couldn't wait to be in each other's arms. After several heated kisses AJ pulled back and suggested that maybe they should take a break to have some cheesecake.

To be continued…


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

She looked him in the eye and said, "AJ unless you really want cheesecake we don't need to stop."

His eyes widened in surprise but he recovered enough to ask, "Samantha does that mean you're ready to advance our relationship?"

Smiling because he couldn't seem to ask her if she was ready for sex, she decided she needed to be more direct. "If you have no objections I brought a change of clothes for tomorrow."

"I have no objection at all Samantha. I just didn't want to rush you in anyway."

"Oh you dear dear man. I feel like I'm the one doing all the rushing. Please tell me if I am being too forward."

"Samantha I don't think that all. You are an incredible woman and I want to make love with you as well. Why don't we actually take a break and since we've been talking. I could get the cheesecake served up while you go out and bring in your bag in?"

"That makes sense, but may I have a kiss before I go?"

"Yes of course," he told her as he helped her to her feet. Taking her in his arms he kissed her the way he'd learned that she liked. The soft tender kiss that told her she was cherished. AJ had always felt that you should treat the woman in your life that way. It had started at his mother's knee where she insisted that he treat all women like ladies. He had learned it well and had personally taken it to the next level to cherish them instead.

Sam sighed as they parted and promised that she would be back as quickly as she could.

She returned to find that he had cut them both a generous slice of the cheesecake. Putting down her bag by the couch she joined him at the table.

"This looks great," he told her as he held her chair for her and then couldn't resist nuzzling her neck as he slid her chair up to the table. It caused a shiver to travel down her spine and she uttered a soft moan.

"Thank you," she murmured and then added, "If you keep doing that I won't be able to think about cheesecake."

There was almost an evil grin on his face when he asked, "And that would be bad?"

"No, that wouldn't be bad at all. I want to be in your arms very badly, but maybe I shouldn't say that?"

"Samantha I don't ever want any secrets between us again, so I want you to feel free to say anything you want to me, no matter what it is. No secrets, alright?"

"Alright, no secrets. AJ Chegwidden I am falling in love with you," she told him then lowered her eyes, almost afraid to see the reaction in his.

But AJ wasn't allowing that, he placed his fingers under her chin and brought her face up so he could see her eyes. "Samantha Blaze I love you too and in the spirit of no secrets I need to tell you that I hope one day very soon to have you as my wife."

She gasped, one hand went to her mouth and the other to her heart, tears glistened in her eyes. In a whisper she told him, "Whenever you are ready to ask me, I can assure you that I will have an answer ready for you."

He looked a bit surprised but then did something that surprised her. He slid off his chair and went down on one knee. Taking her hand in his he asked, "Samantha will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

"Oh yes AJ I would love that more than anything else in the world!"

"I don't have a ring for you yet, but we can change that tomorrow if you like."

"All I want is to be your wife. The ring doesn't matter my darling!"

He stood and keeping her hand in his started leading her to the bedroom. Halfway there he paused and said, "Samantha we never talked about children…do you want them?"

Her smile lit the room, "Your child growing inside of me would be a joy!"

"Do you have a time in mind? I ask because of using protection?"

To be continued…


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 (this chapter is rated M)

Sam closed her eyes for a moment as the thought of having a child filled her mind. The only down side would be no more field work or possibly no more work at all if they had more than one child.

AJ could tell by the look on her face that he shouldn't be worried about the length of silence he was waiting through.

"I'm sorry AJ, I was just thinking about what a baby would do to field work."

"Darlin' do you want to wait a while before we have children?" he asked with concern.

"Oh no! Not at all! I was just thinking I'd need to talk to my boss about desk work."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Well I'm not crazy about desk work, but I am crazy about us having a baby. You know we've been talking about how soon we want children but not when the wedding date would be."

He smiled, "The sooner you are my wife the better! If we had the wedding here in the yard we wouldn't have to worry about renting a venue."

"That's a great idea! What would you think about a month from now?"

"Do you really think you could pull together a wedding in a month?"

"Yes, I really have no family and just a few friends, so all I really need to worry about is finding a dress. Is a month too soon for you?"

"No it's perfect! In a month you will be my wife. I can't wait."

"Neither can I. Now can we stop talking Admiral Sir?" she asked with a wink as she gave his hand a tug in the direction they had been going. Without hesitation he followed her.

Once in his room AJ asked, "Light on?"

Since he hadn't listed the other option she guessed that he wanted it left on, so she simply answered, "Yes."

Sam reached for the hem of her blouse ready to lift it over her head. Instead she found his hands there instead, "Please allow me," he requested.

"Alright," she said just a bit shyly and he thought he detected just a bit of a blush on her cheeks. Her hands reached towards the buttons on his shirt instead figuring that turn about was fair play.

She had to pause in her unbuttoning when AJ pulled her top over her head but she went right back to it. A few moments later she slid his opened shirt off of his shoulders so she could run her hands over his naked chest.

As her hands played over his skin AJ reached behind her to unhook her bra. Finally her lovely breasts came into view and he gently cupped them in his hands. "Samantha you are so lovely." He thumbed her nipples until they were hard and Sam could barely stand.

Trying to give herself some time to recover she leaned into him until her very sensitive breasts touched his male hardness. Taking advantage of being this close to him her sneaky little hands snuck in between them and undid the top of his pants so she could lower the zipper.

Pulling back just a bit AJ smiled as Samantha pushed his pants to the ground. He had less work to do because her pants had an elastic waistband so within moments they were both facing each other in just their underwear.

AJ took her hand and led her to the bed turning back the covers he allowed her to climb in first. Sam stood on tip toe to give him a kiss before removing her panties and then getting into his bed.

She sat there waiting for him and for only a moment he felt slightly embarrassed, for her to just be staring at him while he got naked, but then Sam changed his feelings instantly. "Hurry AJ, I want to make love with you." That comment was all it took for him to get naked and get into bed with her.

They moved into each other's arms and as they kissed their hands began to explore. Normally he could spend a long while building up the tension and pleasure between himself and whatever lady he had been with but here and now with Samantha all he could think of was being inside of her. "Samantha please tell me you are ready. I don't think I can wait any longer!"

"I'm ready for you AJ! So very ready!"

Moments later they were connected and he stroked in and out of her as she gasped out his name. She saw stars as she came and AJ was only a heartbeat behind her. Still in each other's arms they collapsed on the pillows.

"I love you Samantha."

"And I love you AJ."

They made love twice more before falling asleep in each other's arms.

To be continued…


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Side by side they made breakfast the next morning. They talked about how to spend the day, AJ thought they should go ring shopping and Sam only wanted to spend the day with him.

By that afternoon she had a ring on her finger. Sam had to insist that a simple empress cut stone was the one she really wanted. On top of that they also purchased their bands because their date was so close.

While they had been shopping they had lunch on the plaza and AJ suggested they pick up a pizza for dinner. He had a favorite place that made up the pizza and then you took it home to bake it so it would be ready whenever they were ready.

At the house talk turned to how many guest they would have at the wedding and AJ asked, "Samantha will you invite your father?"

"There's not much point unless you think we would need the gift he would send."

"You really think he wouldn't come if you asked him?" AJ asked stunned.

"I'm sure. Don't you have any family like that?"

"The only family I have left is my daughter in Italy and my twin sister in Texas."

Grinning Sam said, "You never mentioned a twin, tell me about her."

"Adel, the bain of my childhood. She is eleven minutes older than I am and held it over me all my life. You'll see if she can get here. She runs the family ranch."

"I really hope to meet her and your daughter. But do you think she will come all the way from Italy?"

"It is short notice, but I know she'll be here if she can," he told her with a smile. "In fact with the time difference I should give her a call now and can call Adel this evening."

Pulling her over to his side they sat down on the couch. Dialing Francesca's number he put the call on speaker phone as he waited for his daughter to come on the line. She answered the phone in Italian and AJ said hello to her in the same language, then he switched to English for Samantha's benefit. "Francesca how are you?"

"I am well Papa, and you?"

"I too am well and I have a surprise for you."

"How wonderful! Are you coming to visit me?"

"Not this time daughter, in fact I was hoping you would have time to come here in a month. I'm getting married and would love you to be here with us."

"Oh Papa this is wonderful news! I will be sure to be there! But is there a reason why the wedding is so…how you say…quick? Is there a baby on the way?"

AJ smiled at Samantha and gave her a wink, "We are working on that but as for the date, we just didn't want to wait."

"I can tell how happy you are from your voice alone. Will you tell her that she is lucky to get my wonderful Papa?"

"She can hear you Francesca, Samantha is sitting right next to me and the phone is on speaker."

Grinning up at him, Sam started to speak to Francesca in Italian! "Hello Francesca I do know how wonderful your father is and I also know that I am very lucky that he is in my life. I am looking forward to meeting you."

Francesca laughed and told them, "I will make my travel arrangements and let you know when I can be there. Chao Samantha. Chao Papa."

"Chao Francesca," the engaged couple said in unison and the call ended.

AJ turned to his fiancé and said, "You never told me you spoke Italian!"

"It just never came up before now. Just so you know I also speak Spanish. I'm sure there will be other surprises that we will learn over time and we have the rest of our lives to do that."

"That's true, and I don't know about you but I'm ready for pizza," he told her getting up and holding out his hand.

She let him help her to her feet and they headed to the kitchen to get dinner in the oven.

To be continued…


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

When dinner was over AJ placed a call to his sister in Texas. Adel came on the line and he told her, "It's your favorite brother!"

"Mom and dad never told me they had another son!" she teased him.

"Well if you feel that way about it, I won't invite you to my wedding!"

"I am so glad that you finally found someone that will have you! Is she old and blind?"

AJ sputtered at the question and Sam had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling out loud. "She is young and very beautiful!" he told her firmly.

"Well I'm guessing that she might have taken pity on you, but I'm glad that she did. When is the wedding so I can make arrangements?"

He gave her the details and added, "You will never know how glad I am that she did take me on."

"There was no pity involved!" Sam insisted, unable to not say something.

"Hello _?" Adel asked because AJ hadn't told her his fiancé's name.

"Samantha Blaze," she told Adel. "I'm an FBI Agent. AJ and I met when I was on a case."

"That's fascinating! Well I can't wait to meet you Samantha."

After the call ended AJ tried once again to get Samantha to do something she didn't want to do. "Samantha are you sure that you don't want to call your father and invite him to the wedding?"

"AJ if you want me to I will do it but I'm sure that he wouldn't come. On the other hand I'd invite Gibbs if you don't mind."

"Samantha I want you to have anyone that you'd like at the wedding. I know Gibbs he's a good guy. Would you want him to walk you down the aisle instead of your father?"

"Oh that's a good idea! Do you mind if I give him a call now?"

"Not at all, please do."

A few seconds later Gibbs came on the line. "Hey Gibbs, it's Sam, I had a request of you."

"Alright Sam what do you need?"

"I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle when I marry AJ Chegwidden?"

"Sam I would be honored to do so, but what about your father?"

"Gibbs you know him! he wouldn't come even if I did invite him!"

"Oh Sam you should at least give him a chance. But I'll tell you what I will walk you down the aisle if he won't."

"Oh Gibbs!" she exclaimed almost in protest.

"Oh Sam," he countered, then added, "At lease ask him."

She reluctantly agreed and ended the call.

As soon as they hung up Gibbs placed another call. He was going to try and lay the ground work for Sam's call. "Sam, Gibbs here," he said when he reached General Blaze. "Your daughter should be calling you at any moment."

"Oh why is that?" he asked.

"Because I told her I wouldn't walk her down the aisle until she had at least asked you. Your daughter wasn't even going to ask you to her wedding because she was sure you wouldn't go!"

"Fell free to do so, I will send her and her fellow a gift."

"Good god man! Honestly? You will have alienated her forever if you do this. On top of that you will never know your grand children. Is that something you can live with?"

"Oh so she getting married because she's knocked up. That figures," replied Sam.

"I honestly doubt that Admiral Chegwidden got her pregnant before the wedding. He is a very honorable man. And I don't know how you could think that of Sammy! That girl is also honorable! You don't deserve that girl!"

"I wanted a son," Sam told him.

"Well we don't always get what we want. But I can guarantee that this is your last chance to have her in your life."

"My call waiting is beeping."

"It's probable her. I will go and hope to see you at the wedding Sam. Think hard and fast," Gibbs told him before hanging up.

To be continued…


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

A second later General Samuel Blaze heard his daughter's hesitant voice, "Hello father, I called to tell you that I was getting married."

"To an Admiral, I hear," he answered.

"How did you…" she started and then exclaimed, "Gibbs!"

"Yes, he called."

"We are getting married in one month and if you have no plans you would be welcome to attend," Sam knew she was sounding very formal but she had never talked to her father any other way. She looked over at AJ as she waited for her father's answer. AJ reached out and squeezed her hand in reassurance. It really seemed like a very long pause before he answered, but when he did he totally shocked Sam.

"I will be there Samantha," he said with no emotion evident in his voice.

"You will?!" she gasped, and AJ could see the tears start down her cheeks. She silently asked AJ a question and he nodded his answer. "Would you also be willing to walk me down the aisle, father?"

"I would. Will it be a formal ceremony?"

"No Sir, it will be in AJ's garden."

"Are you registered somewhere for gifts?"

"No we both have full households to combine so I can't really think of anything we need."

"Alright, was there anything else?"

"No Sir, thank you for your time," she said and ended the call. Sam looked at AJ her eyes full of amazement, "He's coming!"

"He is," AJ smiled at her.

"It must have been something Gibbs said to him."

"Does it matter? He will be with you on our special day."

"Yes, I guess that's all that matters. Now unfortunately I didn't bring work clothes for tomorrow so I should probably head home soon."

"Let me suggest instead that we go to bed early so you could get up in time to go home and get dressed."

"I do love how you think AJ," she grinned and gave him a big hug.

Pulling her closer AJ drew her into a kiss and one thing quickly led to another and they retreated to his bedroom and remained until very early the next morning when Sam hat to head home to dress for work.

The month before the wedding flew by as if the days had wings. Sam had to find a dress and AJ was planning the perfect honeymoon.

Sam had a vision of the dress she wanted in her head. She had never been a froo-froo type, not even as a tiny child. Certainly it had something to do with the way the General raised her but even when she was old enough to make her own choices she wasn't the lace and tulle kind.

So she was looking for something sleek and smooth. At the bridal shop that was what she told the attendant, Debbie. She tried on one dress after another with less and less luck.

"I just don't get it!" Sam exclaimed, to Debbie. "You have shown me a lot of really gorgeous dresses, each one with the lines that I told you I wanted but not one of them seemed right. Why?!"

Debbie grinned at her, "I've seen this happen more times than I could count and they go out with something completely different than what they had been looking for."

"So what do you suggest?" Sam questioned.

"Will you give me a chance to try something?" Debbie asked with a wide smile.

"Sure."

"I'm going to go and grab a dress that I think might work for you. When I get back I'll knock on the door and I want you to close your eyes until you have it on and I tell you to look. Will you give that a chance?"

With a nod Sam agreed to Debbie's suggestion and the attendant hurried from the room. Debbie came to the door and Sam did as she promised. Keeping her eyes closed she could tell right off that there was more material in this dress…a LOT more. Sam could feel the poof all around her. She knew she wouldn't like this dress Debbie had brought in. It was just going to be too much.

To be continued…


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

She waited while Debbie did up what seemed like dozens of buttons on the back, finally she was given permission to open her eyes and the instant she did tears started to flow. Sam's hand went to her mouth at the tears continued to fall. She looked like a princess! Not something she ever really wanted to look like, but this just spoke to her heart.

"Oh Debbie! It's perfect! How did you know?!"

Debbie shrugged, "It's my job," she grinned. "So you like it?"

"Oh no, I love it!" The dress had a sweetheart neckline with long lace sleeves that buttoned at the wrist. The bodice nipped in tight at her waist with a deep V in the front before it belled out into a Scarlett O'Hara type skirt. "This dress has to be thousands of dollars. I didn't want to spend that much money."

"Because of your time crunch I've only been showing you dresses that are ready to be sold not ordered for months from now. I've also been keeping your price limit in mind."

"But this dress?"

"It was about five thousand. A very wealth not very nice woman ordered it and then when it came in she decided she hated it and went another direction. But the dress was already made. We've had it a while and a few people have tried it on. However, no one had bought and we've had to mark it down several times. I think you'll be pleased with what it is marked at now," Debbie said with a grin.

"Oh?" Sam responded, "How much is it?"

Debbie handed Sam the price tag Sam couldn't believe what she saw, $349.99! "Is this right?!" she gasped.

"Yes, I told you that we've had it awhile, but does that really matter if you love it?"

"No that doesn't make a difference to me at all. I guess now I just need a veil to go with it."

"So you'll take it?!" Debbie asked happily. "I'm so glad! It looks amazing on you. Let's find a veil for you. I have a waist length one that would really look fantastic. Once again Debbie was right, the veil was perfect and again well within her price range. She was very happy with her day of shopping and as she checked out she made sure that Debbie's supervisor knew just how great she'd been.

On the other side of town, AJ was putting the finishing touches on what he hoped Samantha would think was the perfect honeymoon. They would cruise to Hawaii, get off the ship then spend a week touring the islands, then back on the cruise ship to finish the trip.

A week before the wedding Sam moved in with AJ happily combining their lives. The weekend before that they received a fun surprise. AJ's sister had flown in for a couple of days to have the chance to meet Sam before the wedding.

Adel and Sam had gotten along famously. The two of them had spent the weekend teasing and tormenting AJ. He was glad that the two of them got along so well but not so happy about what they got up to! At the airport Adel hugged her brother and then she did the same to Sam as well as giving her a kiss on the cheek and advising Sam to 'keep AJ in line!' he couldn't even protest because he could see how pleased his fiancé was at being so accepted by her future sister-in-law.

Then it was the day before the wedding and AJ wanted to check in with Samantha to make sure everything was going well. "Samantha is there anything left to do? Anything I can take off of your plate?"

"Not at all, my love. Everything is in order and there is nothing else left to do but sit back and wait for tomorrow."

"You are amazing! I would have thought you'd be frantic with stress. Instead you are calm and relaxed, it's hard to believe."

"AJ, it's easy to be calm and relaxed when you are organized. I didn't want to be stressed out on our important day so I made sure everything was in order."

"How do you feel about seeing your father tomorrow?"

To be continued…


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"I guess I'm still having a hard time believing that he's going to be here. I know Fort Belvoir, Virginia is only a flight away but it's been so long since I've done any more than had a brief conversation on the phone with him."

"Just remember if you need me I will be there."

"I know AJ, that is why I love you so much! Meeting Francesca today was an experience. I was surprised that we were so close in age. I hadn't even thought to ask you about her age at all. However, she didn't seem to shocked or surprised about my age."

"Francesca was raised in Italy. They seem much more laid back about things like that. I know she was happy that you spoke Italian even if she did tease you about your accent."

"I thought my accent was fine!" Sam protested.

"I think it's charming," he told her.

Sam snorted and cuddled into his arms as they sat on the couch. "Do you mind her staying in the guest room tonight?"

"Not at all AJ. I'm glad she agreed to be my maid of honor and we can both get dressed in there tomorrow."

"She said she loved your dress when she saw it hanging in there. I can't wait to see you in it."

"Just a few more hours now, my love."

"Samantha don't you think we should get to bed so we're rested for tomorrow?"

"AJ when I think of going to bed with you, I'm not thinking of resting," she grinned at him and winked.

"Well in that case it's all the more reason to go." The two of them went into the bedroom hand in hand.

They woke to a dark dreary day with a constant drizzle that was going to ruin their outdoor wedding. However, by noon the sun was out and things were drying out. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief that the day would not be spoiled after all.

Shortly after lunch Francesca and Sam retreated into the guest room to get dressed. Francesca dressed first in a lovely teal gown that complemented her coloring. Once she was ready she helped to lift Sam's gown over her head and do up all the buttons in the back.

"You look amazing Sam," Francesca told her as she settled Sam's veil on her head.

"Thank you Francesca," she hugged the girl that was about to become her step daughter even though Sam was only five years older than Francesca.

There was a knock on the door and Francesca went to answer it to make sure it wasn't her father trying to catch a peek at Sam before the ceremony. Instead Francesca saw an older man in uniform that she didn't know. "Yes?" she inquired.

"I was told my daughter was getting dressed in here, could you direct me to the right room?"

"I'm here father. Francesca you can let me in."

Francesca opened the door and said, "I will see you out there Sam," as she left the room.

Entering the unfamiliar bedroom the General came face to face with a beautiful young woman, "Samantha?"

"Yes father, thank you for coming."

"You look just like your mother," he told her in nearly a daze.

Sam's heart sunk. Here it was, the blame for her mother's death, the disappointment that she hadn't been a boy.

"You're SO beautiful!" he took a step closer to her and saw the stunned look on his daughter's face.

"Ummm, thank you," she replied still unable to believe his words.

"I've brought you something," he reached into his pocket and brought out a long slender velvet box. Opening it he showed her a simple strand of beautiful pearls. "These were your mother's she wore them on our wedding day. She always said if she had a daughter she would pass them along to her. She would want you to have these today."

She was glad she didn't wear mascara because she couldn't hold back the tears.

He could see that she was speechless so offered, "May I help you put them on?"

All Sam could do was nod and turned her back on him to make it easier to put on the necklace. Once it was on, she turned to the mirror on top of the dresser.

"You're incredibly beautiful Samantha," with hesitation showing on his face, General Samuel Blaze held out his arms to his daughter.

To be continued…


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

All the years of hurt and disappointment fell away and she stepped into his arms. A long tender hug went on for a while until he stepped back and said, "Your mother would be so proud of you Samantha…and so am I. Now let's go out there and get you married."

Nodding as she tried to blink back tears, she took his arm and they headed to the backyard.

In the yard all the guests were in the rented white chairs with an aisle down the middle. But Sam saw none of that, she only had eyes for AJ standing in front of his row of rose bushes.

Francesca started up the aisle and her father asked her, "Does your Admiral know how lucky he is?"

"I'm the lucky one, father," she told him as they started down the aisle. "He's a wonderful man."

"He has to be or you never would have chosen him."

The ceremony was very traditional. The kiss at the end was all that Sam had dreamed of in her secret little girl fantasies.

The guests applauded and there was even a cheer or two. People gathered around them offering good wishes and hugs as well. AJ had the caterers set up on the paitio and everyone was invited to help themselves.

When people began moving towards the food tables Sam took AJ over to where her father stood talking to Leroy Jethero Gibbs. As they approached the two men, Gibbs said he was going to get something to eat. "AJ, I want you to meet my father, General Samuel Blaze. Father this is your new son-in-law Admiral AJ Chegwidden."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sir," AJ said as the two men shook hands.

"My daughter and Gibbs both tell me you are a good man. All I want is for you to be good to her."

AJ was tempted for just an instant to say, 'Unlike you have all these years?' However, he didn't do that, instead he promised, "I can assure you that is my plan. She is very precious to me."

The newlyweds couple found themselves along for a moment and AJ turned to his new wife to tell her, "You look like a princess in that dress. So beautiful."

"It wasn't what I wanted at all. I was looking for something sleek and graceful but even after trying on several just like that nothing seemed right. Then the girl that was helping me suggested this one and I fell in love with it. I'm so glad you like it."

"I do and one day you could pass it down to our daughter."

Sam smiled and put her hand on her necklace, "My father gave me these pearls, they were my mother's. We could pass them down to our daughter too. Or if we have a son he could give them to his bride."

"Let's get something to eat so we can cut that great cake you ordered," he suggested.

"Remembering your promise no cake face smashing!"

"Did I promise that?" he teased.

"Yes you did!" Sam insisted.

"Okay no cake smashing," AJ agreed with a grin.

Later as the guests were leaving Gibbs found a moment alone with Sam, "Are you glad that you called your dad?"

"Yes Gibbs. The change in him was night and day. I don't know what you said to him but it was actually like he was a different person. Thank you."

"I simply told him that this was probably his last chance with you and if he didn't change his attitude he could lose you forever since you were starting a family of your own now."

Hugging him she emotionally thanked him again before AJ came up to her and said they needed to head to the airport. For the last two weeks Sam had been asking him where they were going on their honeymoon, but all he would tell her was that they were going somewhere warm.

Sam was a bit surprised when they landed in California that night. AJ had kept telling her that they were going somewhere spectacular. Sam was trying hard not to be disappointed, but California really didn't seem spectacular to her. What she didn't know was that AJ had planned this night for them to relax before the next day.

To be continued…


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

After a romantic dinner in the hotel restaurant they didn't stay up long because AJ seemed intent on them going to bed early. In the morning he had their luggage ready to go and a cab waiting at the door to the hotel. He helped her into the cab still not telling her what was up.

As they drove along Sam protested, "I thought we had an agreement that we would have no secrets between us?"

"There's a difference between secrets and surprises Darlin'. This is a surprise."

Her eyes widened before she could answer. The cab had turned down a road along the coast. They were driving along an entire row of cruise ships and pulled to a stop near the gang plank of one of them.

Sam looked up at AJ with questions in her eyes. "Surprise!" he said with a grin, helping her out of the cab.

"We're going on a cruise?!" she gasped in amazement.

"Yes, we are going to cruise to Hawaii then get off the ship to tour the islands for a week then back on the ship to return here to California."

"Oh AJ that sound amazing!"

"I was hoping you would like it," he told her as one of the porters piled their luggage onto a cart and promised it would be delivered to their cabin.

After three wonderful days on the cruise ship Sam almost didn't want to get off when they reached Hawaii. They had been having so much fun swimming, going down the water slides, spending time in the hot tub, then in the evening dancing to the different bands on board.

AJ reminded her that they would have three days on the ship after Hawaii, so with a sigh Sam packed her bags. They checked into the hotel on Maui. He pulled out several brochures so they could make a plan of all the things they wanted to see and do during the week.

Because they chose the things they wanted to do they had a great time. They saw incredibly beautiful waterfalls, enjoyed a luau and had a hula lesson. They also saw fire dancers and took surfing lessons. A lot of time was spent dancing and there was also a lot of lovemaking, all in all it was a fantastic week in Hawaii.

Then it was time to get back on the ship to head home. During those three days on the ship AJ had a feeling that Samantha was keeping something from him. He really couldn't figure out what it could be unless she wasn't enjoying the new ship that was taking them back to California as she did the trip out. Or maybe it was just that their wonderful honeymoon was coming to an end.

AJ tried to gently question her about it, but when he did she simply got up and hurried away from him. Now he was truly worried. Maybe he had done something to upset her, but he couldn't think of what it could have been.

When he found her she was in their cabin and had something in her hand that she quickly hid behind her back when he came in. AJ tried not to be hurt but clearly she was keeping something from him.

"Samantha please tell me what is going on with you? I'm really concerned."

"Well I was going to wait until we got home tomorrow to tell you, but if you really want to know now, I guess I could tell you now."

"Remember no matter what it is Samantha we can face it together," he assured her.

"That's good because this is really your fault. In the interest of no secrets between us, this is what I've been hiding," Sam reached behind her and brought out a small plastic stick with a distinctive blue plus sign that read 'positive' under it just in case you needed the added assurance.

AJ took it from her hand and looked back and forth between Samantha and the stick a couple of times and then with a wide smile asked, "Samantha are you pregnant?!"

She nodded happily and before she knew it he had swept her up in his arms and spun her around the room. "You're happy about this?" she asked when he stopped spinning her around.

"Very happy Samantha! We're starting our family together!"

"Yes we are," she said and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

THE END


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